The Gift of God

The Gift of God – Living Water

"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." - John 4:7

"Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." - John 4:9 KJV

"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." - John 4:10 KJV

Jesus said, “If thou knewest the gift of God…”

Jesus has a gift for all humanity. He calls this gift “living water.” Jesus said whoever drinks the water He gives them will never thirst. He said if a person asks Him, He would give them living water. Jesus said this water will be inside them giving them eternal life!

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." - John 4:13-14 KJV

What is this gift of living water?

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 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.)" - John 7:37-39

This gift of living water is the Spirit – the Holy Ghost.

How does it spring up into everlasting life (give eternal life)?

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [“give life to”] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." - Romans 8:11

The Spirit gives us eternal life when the Spirit dwells in us. The Spirit dwells in us when we have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus [those dead that are baptized in Jesus name and filled with His Spirit] will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep [those that are dead]. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ [those dead that are believers] shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain [believers] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord [be forever with the Lord]." - 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

Those baptized in the name of Jesus for and full of the Holy Ghost when they die (“the dead in Christ”), will rise first. Those baptized in Jesus name and full of the Holy Ghost and living when Jesus returns (“we which are alive and remain”), will join those that rose from the grave, to be caught up together in the clouds, to meet Jesus in the air. The gift of the Holy Ghost, the living water, gives us everlasting life with Jesus.

How do we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost?

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38 KJV

"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." - Acts 2:39 KJV

Life, joy, and pleasures forevermore

 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." - Psalm 16:11 KJV

Jesus shows us the path of life.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." - John 14:6 KJV

It is by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – the gospel – that we find the way to life. There is no other gospel, no other religion that can bring us to God. By His name in baptism we apply the blood He shed to remit our sins so we can make peace with Him, receive His Spirit, and live. 

When we obey the gospel of Jesus, we receive the promise of God's Spirit, the Holy Ghost. 

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38 KJV

In His presence there is fullness of joy. 

"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:" - 1 Peter 1:8 KJV

We do not now see the physical body of Jesus (which ascended to heaven and which we will see in the clouds at the rapture), but now we feel the joy of His Spirit when we are filled with His Holy Ghost.

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." - Romans 14:17 KJV

The pleasures that come from living for Jesus far outweigh what the world has to offer. 

The good choice is to turn away from sin and its path of death and to choose the path of life. 

Jesus gives us a life of pleasure that is no comparison to the sin the world has to offer.

A few of the pleasures the Spirit of God brings into our life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).

Jesus shows us His gospel is the path of life which leads to heaven. In Jesus there is fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore!

Church!

Church! 

Every day we are one step closer to seeing Jesus face to face. It is a day to rejoice and at the same time be sure we are ready. To be ready, we must repent of our sins (being sorrowful for the wrongs we have done and turning our back to sin), be baptized by immersion in water in the name of JESUS for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (God’s Spirit in us, with the sign of speaking in another tongue/language as we allow God to take control of our words). (Acts 2:4, Acts 2:38) 

We should not simply be ready by obeying the gospel, but also ready by being all that the Lord wants us to be. We should be fruitful by doing good works and shining the love of Jesus to others. We should be fruitful by bringing others into the kingdom of God through the gospel. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 2:38)

In the day we are in, we must be faithful to assemble together by going to the house of God. We need the encouragement, and the exhorting (preaching) from the Word so that we can walk true and steadfast in Jesus. Through prayer and worship we can receive the communion and strength of His Spirit to make it through these end times. 

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." - Hebrews 10:23-25

The Gospel

Repentance is death to sin. Water baptism in Jesus’ name is burial of old nature. Holy Ghost infilling is resurrection to new life.

Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth,

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV

Paul preached the gospel, the church received the gospel, they stand in the gospel, and they are saved by the gospel, if they kept in memory what he preached to him, or else their belief is in vain. They believed that Christ DIED for their sins, that He was BURIED, and that He ROSE again. Their BELIEF in the gospel would be in vain if they didn’t OBEY the gospel.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome,

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." - Romans 6:1-4 KJV

Paul preached we are DEAD TO SIN by REPENTANCE. We are BURIED with Jesus Christ by BAPTISM. We are RESURRECTED by the HOLY GHOST to walk in new life.

This is how we OBEY the gospel, so that our belief is not “in vain.” (Mark 16:15-16).

On the Day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter preached the gospel – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When asked, “What shall we do?” he preached how to obey the gospel.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38 KJV

Jesus Has All Power

 Jesus has all power.

"And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." - Luke 4:14-15

Jesus has power over satan.

“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

“And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not." - Luke 4:33-35

Jesus gave power to His disciples.

"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come... 

"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." 

"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

" - Luke 10:1, 17-20 

Because Jesus paid the price of death for our sins on the tree, we are able to have our names written in heaven  by our repentance, our baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and by receiving His gift of His Holy Ghost.

"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" - 2 Timothy 1:10

And now He gives US power 

 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." - Mark 16:17-18 

Teach Your Children

 

Teach your children 

What is the first priority in teaching our children?

Paul wrote to Timothy reminding him that from a child he knew the holy scriptures.

"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." - 2 Timothy 3:15 KJV

We can teach our children the things to get by in this world, but this world is not our home; there is the reality of heaven beyond this mortal world. We need to prepare our children for a place in heaven.

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV

God impressed on His people how important it is to Him to teach our children His commandments.

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." - Deuteronomy 6:7 KJV

Because of Timothy’s knowledge of the Word and his answer to the call of God in his life, he was able to not only save himself, but to teach others of the kingdom of God and how to be saved. (2Timothy 1:5, 1Timothy 4:14).

"Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." - 1 Timothy 4:16 KJV

Because we love our children and we want the best for them, we teach them about Jesus and His love for them. We teach them the gospel and how to be saved. We give our children the knowledge of the Word as we have been given the knowledge, passing it on to them so they too can have a place not only in heaven, but a place to be used in the kingdom of God here on earth.

All the Fullness of the Godhead is in Christ

We must beware of false doctrines, such as the trinity. The Bible tells us that all the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ. (Colossians 2:8-10).

We are complete in Jesus. It is Jesus, our Heavenly Father that robed Himself in a holy human body, born of a woman, so that He could pay the price of death for OUR sins. (John 14:6-19, 1Peter 1:18-19, John 1:29, Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus died, He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead. We were dead in our sins, but Jesus gives us Life. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the Gospel.

Jesus gives us Life when we put off the sins of our flesh by repentance, we bury our sins by water baptism in the name of JESUS, (washing them away by the blood that Jesus shed), and we are filled with His Life giving Spirit, the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38, John 6:63).

Colossians 2:8-15  "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened [made alive] together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

"And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."