It is the second week of Advent today, which means that Christmas is just around the corner. According to the verse of Luke 1:35, Christmas is a festival for Christ! As you know, with the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus came down to earth through Mary. Here we again know the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. We've been learning what kind of person the Holy Spirit is for some weeks now. In today's scripture reading, we are encouraged to ask, and even beg earnestly for the work of God's Spirit. Refer also to Jn.7:37,38.

A life spent with God's Holy Spirit is what we badly need, so that through us people will find the love and faith of God. Here, in this passage, we find another parable told to us by Jesus. In the story, a man begged and begged his friend for a loaf of bread, at a very late hour! In this story, we can find that there is a relationship between the two men; they are truly friends. However, it is not normal to visit a friend at midnight. It wouldn't be possible between strangers, but because they were friends, that is there was a trust-worthy relation between them, the man was given bread!

People say that there are three things that we need in order to lead a blessed life. 1. We need to have a good master. 2. We need to have a good friend. And, 3. We need to have a good goal, or aim, in life.

You may have noticed that the relationship between these friends in the parable is the same one we have with our Heavenly Father. In praying to our Father in Heaven, we need to follow the example of the person given in Jesus' parable; we need to keep asking! Even a bad earthly father gives his child what is good. Whenever Christmas comes, lots of parents suffer from ideas of what they should buy their children. One time, I knew one of my children was looking forward to recieving Christmas presents when she was little. Being the oldest among her brothers and sisters, she had some how deduced that it was her parents who brought their Christmas presents. But, pretending not to know this fact, she enjoyed her presents with her brothers and sisters. We all feel so happy when we receive presents at Christmas! This is why Jesus was incarnated and died for us. Jesus was the first Christmas present human beings ever received. It is a privilege for us to receive this blessed present. John 1:12.

Read Romans 8:32; Living in this difficult age, I feel that we really need to know this verse. Don't keep getting depressed and giving up in your prayers! But, keep asking for Him who gives us abundantly.

Back to today's scripture reading, we know our Father is willing to give us what is good; the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is ask earnestly, being aware of our own thirst and hunger, for Him. When we realize how badly we need God's Spirit in our lives, it is natural for us to pray like this!

When we were younger, and our children were very little, we didn't have much money. But, even so, my wife kept saving what little money we had, until one day we had enough to stay in a little Inn in Yufuin [a popular Japanese resort town]. During this stay, one of my children got a bad toothache, and we were about to have an aweful time. Suddenly, I remembered a certain pastor I knew in the area, and I called him for help. He let me visit his home, and gave me a medicine that he thought might work. Though it was midnight, like in the parable, he didn't make a fuss at all. I troubled him a great deal, but because of our relationship as friends and co-workers for Christ, he gave me a helping hand. Acts 5:32. Just believe, then your faith will turn into action. If you believe in God, who does miraculous work, then you will ask him. Ga.5:16-25. To be faithful is to follow the voice of the Spirit. Naturally, we have the weakness of being under the influence of our flesh, but just like we learned last week, our flesh too has been crucified with Christ. Remember this!

There was a certain Japanese pastor who had a chance to know a servant of the Emperor's family. He came to a gathering of Christians for which that pastor was the main speaker. At that conference, he had the wonderful experience of being purified. He had been suffering from a short temper that had turned many people against him. Though he had been a Christian for 30 years, he was not a real witness. But, at that conference, he knew for the first time, the significance of the Cross! His short temper was also crucified with Christ! After that, he was able to escape from his suffering perfectly.

For Christmas, Jesus gave Himself to us. It was for Him to die on the cross, and he did this so that our old egos could die there with His body. Ask for the work of the Spirit in your lives, so that you can, and we can together, experience this sanctification! Remember the first time that you received Christ into your lives and be softened to accept the free work of His Spirit.

Translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
For another sermon see: Oita Evangelical Christ Church
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