The Spirit’s function in the New Covenant is incredibly important; it changed everything after Jesus’ ascension to the Father (John 14:16-19).   It is a critical teaching that your children must comprehend in order to accomplish God’s will in their lives.  The Spirit’s role, though, was never ordained to overshadow the roles of the Father and the Son.   The unity, purpose, and plans of the Father, Son and Spirit never placed one role over the other.   They were a perfect model of shared glory, love, and role responsibility  (John 14:10-11, 2 Cor. 3:17, Luke 4:18).    But the Spirit’s role did change a great deal when Christ made His exit from this earth (Acts 2:17).  Unlike any other time in God’s history, the Spirit’s power was released on a permanent basis within the heart of a believer. (Acts 10:44-48).   Hence, each of your children who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior (John 11:21-27) also received a complete filling of the Spirit’s presence (Acts 13:52).   It does not matter how old your children are; if they have accepted Christ they have a full measure of the Spirit.   Through their obedience and trust over the years, which you are to model and teach, they will be able to do just about anything on earth that is possible, as long as its within God’s  plan and purpose (Matthew 21:21-22).  

You children can be another Apostle Paul, Abigail Adams, Werner Von Braun, or J.C. Penney.   Abigail Adams served and influenced two American presidents.  She was wife to John Adams, and mother to John Quincy Adams (2^nd & 6th Presidents of the United States).   Her influence came through constant prayer and dependence on an indwelling Holy Spirit.    Werner Von Braun was perhaps the greatest rocket scientist in the 20^th Century.   His greatness as a scientist was secondary, though, to his faith in Christ.  He often and openly proclaimed his testimony to a scientific world that treated God as a religious myth.   J.C. Penny was one of the greatest businessmen in American history.  His greatness in the business world was surpassed by his faith in Christ, as well as his faithfulness.    It was reported that J.C. Penny tithed over 90% of his wealth to numerous Christian ministries.

If your children have received Christ they have the power and a plan from God that will bring them peace and purpose during all their years on earth.  The unrestrained power of God’s Spirit according to the Scriptures is like an eternal flame that can never be put out (Luke 3:15-16, Hebrew 12:29).  The fire of the Spirit can only be covered up by faithless and disobedient living (2 Timothy 2:13).   Your job as parents is to teach and model in front of your children how to keep the fire of God’s Spirit uncovered.

The subsequent lessons in this Teachable Moment series on God’s Spirit within the Believing Child will hopefully give you some good parenting tools to help develop your child’s faith.  I also suggest that you read Bruce Wilkinson’s book, Prayer of Jabez, over the next few weeks.   It is a terrific little book that will complement our study.  (Order by calling 1 800 763-5433)

Teachable Moments

In this teachable moment, get out the old barbeque pit.   Ask your children to help clean it up and get it ready for an outside or picnic meal.    Show them how to get the coals fired up.   Once they are lit, have your children blow on the coals.   Or if you are like me, use a fan to get things going.    Hopefully, they will observe the coals getting hotter and hotter, even to the point of shooting up flames through the grill.   Then close the barbeque lid.     Before you bring on the meat, sit down and share with them the following analogy.   God’s Spirit is like the lit coals.  The minute you received Christ, He lit the coals in your life.   The Spirit of God can never be taken away; He is there to stay, unlike the coals of the barbeque pit that cool when the meat is done.     The coals, though, can certainly be covered, and not seen.   This is what happens when we are faithless and disobedient.  But all we have to do is open the lid and there the fire is.  This is what we do when we confess our sins and ask the Spirit to take control again.   And if we want to do more, like fulfilling the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), this is like blowing on the coals.   We then become red hot.  And that is what God wants; He wants us to be red-hot by trusting the indwelling Spirit within us.  

Word of God

John 14: 16-19 16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.  18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19  “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

John 14: 10-11   10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.  11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.

2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Luke 4: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

Acts 2: 17  ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Acts 10: 44-48 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.  45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47  “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”  48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

John 11: 21-27 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”  23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world”

Acts 13:52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 21:21-22 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt …all things you ask in prayer, believe and you will receive.”

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself”

Luke 3: 15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Hebrews 12: 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Matthew 28:19-20 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”