God wants you, even commands you, to expect the very best things from Him. He commands you to ask because He is the Giver and He is your Father who didn’t even spare His own Son from death to save you. And what do you need from your Father more than the gift of His Holy Spirit who teaches you to love and desire what is good and right and true? What greater gift could He give you than His own Spirit so that you may truly be like Him, knowing and loving good, knowing and hating evil? But we are so often confused about what is good and think that the gift of the Holy Spirit is an insignificant thing because we can’t see Him and He doesn’t enrich us with earthly things or even, necessarily, make our lives easier. Instead, the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth and gives us all that belongs to Christ – life, salvation, victory over death, the forgiveness of all our sins. And all of this He does by the Word that He proclaims to us, the Word that we read and hear read from the Holly Scriptures, the Word that is the basis of our pastor’s sermon, the Word that we seek to commit to our heart week after week. The eternal treasures of God’s kingdom are bestowed upon us in the most humble way. St. Paul writes “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) This is why Christ died, so that the Holy Spirit make take all of His benefits and give them to you. Let us come and be taught by the Holy Spirit that we may have the life of Christ. I look forward to seeing all of you this coming Lord’s Day.
Pastor Ulmer