For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus is the greatest gift anyone could ever receive; and if you have Jesus in your heart, you should want to help God deliver that gift to others.

The Christmas season is a busy one for most people. They do extra shopping, baking and decorating; and they participate in other activities that go along with the holiday season. They spend time with their loved ones and family to exchange gifts and celebrate Christmas, but I say again that the greatest gift anyone could ever receive is the gift of Jesus.

When God sent the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, he said to her, Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:31-35,37,38). At first, Mary didn’t know how this could be; but she was willing to be used by God to deliver Jesus to the world.

Today, it can be hard for us to understand how we are going to deliver Jesus to the whole world when there are over seven billion people in it; but through technology, God is making the way.

The Shepherds Saw the Gift

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. There were shepherds close by who were abiding in a field and keeping watch over their flock by night; and the angel of the Lord came to them and said, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people [meaning Jesus is for everybody]. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12).

The angel delivered the gift of Jesus to the shepherds; and when the shepherds received the message of Jesus, suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:13,14). When we deliver the gift of Jesus to others and they receive Him, we should praise God just like the heavenly host did on the day that Jesus was born.

And they [the shepherds] came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child (Luke 2:16,17). When you really find Jesus, you want to tell others about Him; and that is what the shepherds did. We are responsible to deliver the gift of Jesus just like they did.

The Early Church Delivered the Gift

The Early Church had the responsibility of delivering the gift of Jesus, but that road was not an easy one. Acts 8 tells how Saul was wreaking havoc in the Early Church by entering into Christians’ houses and taking men and women to be thrown into prison. The early Christians were scattered abroad because of all the persecution, but they still went out and delivered the gift of Jesus.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them (Acts 8:5). As Philip prayed for the sick and afflicted, they were healed and delivered. Jesus paid the price so that we could have miracles and healings. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). The blood of Jesus can deliver you from any bondage you may have in your life. He brought healing for soul, mind and body.

When Philip preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God, people were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; and they received the greatest gift of all, the gift of Jesus Christ. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did (Acts 8:6). Philip had great success delivering the gift of Jesus to people.

Philip’s Unusual Journey

After Philip had preached to the Samaritan people, the Holy Ghost moved on him to go to Gaza, which is a desert area. One moment he was conducting a great revival, and the next he was called to a place of desolation. It would have been easy for Philip to want to stay in the place where he was having great success and where people were receiving the gift of Jesus; but the Bible says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8,9).

The Holy Ghost moved on Philip to deliver the gift of Jesus to a soul in the desert; and when you are led by the Holy Ghost, He doesn’t want you to hesitate. Philip left right away; and he went by faith, not by feelings.

In the desert, there was an Ethiopian man returning from his visit to Jerusalem; and he was reading the writings of Isaiah. He was an educated man of high standing, but he didn’t understand what he was reading.

Thankfully, Philip was yielded to the Holy Ghost, so he was in the right place at the right time to help that man. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him (Acts 8:29-31).

Philip Delivered the Gift

The Holy Ghost prepares people to receive the gift of Jesus, and God’s timing was perfect. The man’s moving chariot was passing by Philip at the exact moment he was reading the scripture about Jesus. The Holy Ghost knew the man was ready for salvation; and when Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, the door opened for him to teach the man about Jesus.

After Philip had delivered the gift to that hungry soul, they passed by some water; and the Ethiopian man asked, Here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized (Acts 8:36)? Philip told him that if he believed with his whole heart, he could be saved. The man replied, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37). That Ethiopian man had accepted the gift of Jesus, and Philip baptized him.

And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea (Acts 8:39,40). The Holy Ghost miraculously transported Philip to another city to deliver the gift of Jesus; and no doubt, the Ethiopian man went back to his country to deliver the gift of Jesus to others as well.

A Gift for the Devil Possessed

The gift of Jesus is a gift everyone can receive and deliver to others. One day as Paul and Silas were heading out for prayer, a girl possessed with a spirit of divination met them; and she followed them around crying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation (Acts 16:17).

She continued to hinder them like that for several days; and Paul became so grieved that he turned and said to the spirit possessing her, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour (Acts 16:18).

Paul knew the girl needed deliverance, but her masters were not happy about it at all because she had brought them a lot of money. Unsaved people are not always happy when someone receives deliverance and salvation, and it is usually because of selfish reasons. After I got saved, I no longer had much in common with my worldly friends; and they would have rather had the old me back. They didn’t understand the gift of Jesus.

The slave girl’s masters didn’t care about her soul; they were just angry about losing so much money, so they took Paul and Silas before the magistrates to complain. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks (Acts 16:19-24).

Persecution Brought Salvation

It certainly didn’t look like things were going Paul and Silas’ way. They did a good deed, and then they were whipped and thrown into prison for it. Most Christians in their situation would have been asking why, but Paul and Silas were focused on souls; and they had perfect peace. They were not complaining or crying about how they had been beaten; they were singing praises unto God.

No doubt the Holy Ghost had placed them in the innermost part of the prison so everyone could hear them singing. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed (Acts 16:25,26). That earthquake gave Paul and Silas an opportunity to escape, but they didn’t because they knew souls were hanging in the balance; and they took their directions from the Holy Ghost.

The keeper of the prison thought all the prisoners had escaped, and he was ready to commit suicide, but Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he [the keeper] called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house (Acts 16:28-31). Because Paul and Silas had their minds stayed on the Lord and trusted in God, the Holy Ghost was able to feed them God’s thoughts and direct them in how God wanted their situation to be handled.

Paul and Silas had been beaten, thrown into prison and endured a great earthquake; but the result of it all was that a young, devil-possessed woman who had been forced to do the devil’s work received her deliverance. Also, the keeper of the prison and his family received the gift of Jesus.

Accept the Gift of Jesus

I’m sure the keeper of the prison recognized Jesus in Paul and Silas and saw the difference in their lives, and that is why he and his family wanted to get saved. Do people see the gift of Jesus in your life?

Friend, if you don’t have the gift of Jesus in your heart, accept Him today; and you will have the best Christmas ever. Say the sinner’s prayer found on page 5 of this magazine right now. Then you must go on to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost so you will be ready to meet Jesus in the air when He returns for His Bride.

God bless you.