GIFTS UNTO YOUR CHILDREN
Luke 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 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. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Our often repeated verse of Romans 1:20 instructs us that the invisible things of the very Person of God can be “clearly seen” by considering the things that are made. Romans 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: And these verses in our Luke eleven text clearly reveal just how God and his goodness to mankind are revealed through the natural family relations!
What an amazing privilege we have to transcend from the benevolent kindness of the natural father to a son up to the awareness of the glorious love of The Father, “which art in heaven!” But how many of us who have had occasions of warmth and joy in helping our children, have not used that experience to contemplate THE Father’s great love, far beyond out meager measure? For seldom does even the true believer ascend beyond the emotional to afford himself an entering into the holy place, beyond the veil of religious practice!
Consider these truths: Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, The Father of our Lord Christ is the namesake of the entire family of believers in heaven and earth! Therefore we should learn to relate to Him from the warm and joyful experiences with our natural families!
Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. And marriage between the man and woman is given in order to show us the spiritual union between Christ, the Husband, and the spiritual church, His Bride! Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
We do not seem to realize the depth of the meaning and significance of the very first phrase of our Lord’s prayer. They are, “Our Father which art in heaven.” This phrase is seeking to reveal to us the predominance of those born of the Spirit over those just born of the flesh. For one cannot be a father except there is a son! One can be a ‘husband,’ but not a father until a son is given. And the Incarnation was assured long before the babe was born in that manger. John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
But we can began to realize this as we progress in the Christian walk down through the years. The prodigal son had to come down to the hog pen to have this realization! He had to go down to the hog pen in order to rise up to enter into the spiritual appreciation of the Father! Luke 15:16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
And the Hebrew writer sets this forth in order to aid us in attaining this spiritual transition. For even in our natural chastisements we have an opportunity for the revelation of our heavenly Father! Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
The scriptures clearly inform us that this is Almighty God’s eternal intent. Psalm 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. When he created the universe he positioned the heavens to be so high above the earth in order to make a statement to all who had ears to hear of his Fatherhood!
He formed the fowl of the air from the waters to fly in the heights of the atmosphere in order to reveal his dear people, formed in the Holy Spirit, soaring into the spiritual matters of his glory. Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive:) Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. There is so much which we lost in the first Adam which can only be recovered by the wondrous workings of the Last Adam!
Now let us consider the three ways in which our Lord instructs us as how we may recover such spiritual blessings. For all three are followed up by His absolute “shall!” Therefore we shall not only have what we seek for, but we shall have a greater gift of coming to more deeply know the heavenly Father.
First he instructs us to “Ask.” Ask, and it shall be given you; For asking implies a want, or the desire to have supplied something missing! This is clearly seen in the beggar, sitting at the gate Beautiful, asking with expectation of Peter and John. Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
And that beggar, like the crippled soul, obtains far more than he expects! Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Then he instructs us to “seek.” seek, and ye shall find; And seeking implies a loss! This is seen in the woman who lost a piece of silver. Luke 15:8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
We are also to seek for that which has been lost to us. Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
And thirdly he instructs us to “knock.” knock, and it shall be opened unto you. And this implies for us to keep on knocking. For it was the shameless persistence of the neighbor that caused the man to rise up out of bed and give as many loaves as was needed. Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (shameless insistence) he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Do you have such a pressing hunger for matters spiritual that you will continue to disturb God for its satisfaction? That kind of hunger is called “blessed” by God! Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Luke 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
You have the Lord God’s emphatic word on this! For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. The Lord God is defined by this simple statement: 1 John 4:8 …for God is love.
“Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy; is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited – arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights, or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it – pays no attention to a suffered wrong.” 1 Corinthians 13:4,5 Amplified Bible
This certainly does not accompany the natural birth! It can only come from the new birth of the Holy Spirit, imparting these characteristics of God within our renewed nature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Consider these passages concerning God’s glorious and amazing graciousness. Hosea 11:8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. 9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
And what shall be the motivation for the eternally continued worship of the Lord Christ throughout the eternal ages? Shall it not be for the realized vastness of the mercies shown to undeserving sinners? Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: …
Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Blessed be God!
Pastor Gene Breed
January 13, 2022
