Pastor Sabu Thomas
“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39)
Peter in his sermon speaks of the promise of the Holy Spirit just after the New Testament Church had been formed. The resurrected Christ had ascended into Heaven and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church. The Spirit, sent from the Father, is the one to establish the Church. This promise is for us, the body of believers who are a part of the church. Not only are we heirs of the promise, but our children are joint heirs with us of the same promise.
Six hundred years before Peter stood up to give this sermon, Isaiah the prophet saw through prophetic eyes those who were going to be redeemed. As Isaiah 44:3 states, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.” This verse is not addressed to geographical Israel, but Isaiah prophesies about a spiritual Israel on whom God would pour out His Spirit. There are two types of Israel: one is the Old Testament Israel, and the other is the chosen Israel.
In Isaiah 44:1–2 God says, “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you; Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.” Here Jacob refers to Jacob the deceiver, who by the ford of Jabbok wrestled with the Angel and got hold of the promises after which God changed his name to Israel. Isaiah spoke prophetically about the chosen Israel that would be birthed six hundred years later.
A child of God should have the conviction that he is no ordinary person, but a chosen Jeshurun. God has broken off the natural branches of the olive tree and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree (Romans 11:17–24). God saw us before we were formed in our mother’s womb and made us heirs of the promise as stated: “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Peter, the prophet of the New Testament, quoted this Scripture when he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending in tongues of fire upon the church, the chosen Israel. In 1 Peter 1:18–19 it is written: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Before, we conducted ourselves unknowingly in aimless traditions like bowing before statues, holding religious processions, offering penances and other rituals from which God in His mercy has redeemed us. If we walked aimlessly before, now a child of God should walk with the aim of winning souls to Christ.
Abraham, who was the son of an idol maker, once walked aimlessly through the streets of Iraq. But when God called him out of his father’s house to go to the land He was to give him, Abraham’s walk had meaning. God changed his name from Abram, the father of a nation, to Abraham, the father of many nations, and he received great blessings. When our walk changes, our situations change, and blessings overtake us.
1 Peter 2:9 says: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” This is a light so marvelous that no power house or thermal plant can produce. Revelation 22:5 declares: “And there shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.” When God calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light, we are to proclaim His praises. We should use our tongues to glorify God and not to speak evil and slander others.
Hebrews 11:9–10 says: “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Abraham, at the age of 170, dwelt in tents with his son and grandson, impressing upon them that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, waiting for a heavenly country. Genesis 22:6 shows Abraham taking the wood of the burnt offering, laying it on Isaac, taking the fire and a knife, and the two walking together to Mount Moriah. When Isaac asked, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” the focus of their conversation was the sacrifice, not worldly matters. So too, our conversations should revolve around the things of God.
Ephesians 6:4 says: “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” The Bible teaches that we are to give our children training and admonition. Hebrews 12:5–6 reminds us: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If God chastises the children whom He loves, parents too should chasten their children. Discipline must be patterned after divine discipline. Proverbs 13:24 declares: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” True love does not overlook faults but guides a child toward righteousness.
In 1 Samuel 1:11, Hannah promised God that if He gave her a male child, the child would be dedicated to Him for life. Dedication does not always mean serving as a full-time minister, but that in any field, the child should serve God faithfully. Hannah brought a robe for her son each year when she came to sacrifice. Though she didn’t see Samuel often, she knew in the spirit how much he had grown because she was a praying mother. Even if our children are far away, if we pray in tears for them, they will never be lost.
Samuel grew among the wicked sons of Eli who defiled the sacrifices and dishonored the temple, yet Samuel ministered faithfully because his mother prayed. Even if we heap all the material blessings upon our children, we cannot ensure them a godly life. But if we raise them in the training and admonition of the Lord with prayer and dedication, they will never stray from God’s path. Then we who are heirs of the promise can say with boldness that our children are joint heirs of the same promise.