Sharing our blanket

We can only give what we received as it is written “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”, Ephesians 2:8

“Sharing our blanket” is based on the fact that we received the love of God through His Son Jesus Christ in faith and without merit, therefore we share in love what we received, out of thankfulness.

The Lord showed us to use a blanket with a Bible verse sown on it, as a gift and tangible reminder of His Love.

Sharing the gift of His love.

We would visit churches in rural areas or just visit homes and then during the visit present one blanket as a gift to those present. However not giving it to a specific person we just placed it on the floor or a chair nearby, asking those present if they did not want it. Hinting that it was available since nobody took it. We would continue to explain that we had already given it, but that it was their responsibility to take it. Only then after understanding someone would realise the concept of the gift. This person usually then takes the gift and only hereafter we would continue in explaining the gift.

We would then explain to all the people present, just as the gift of the blanket was available to all of them and only the one who took it, received it, God gave Jesus as a gift to the whole world. Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Explaining that the gift God gave us through His Son Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sins when HE died on the cross 2000 years ago, must be received in faith just as you would receive a gift like the blanket, you must take it. ONLY ONCE YOU HAVE TAKEN IT, it belongs to you.

Demonstrating the gift of Salvation through the Blood of the Lamb we would then wrap the person who received the blanket, with it. Asking the other people to explain what they see and they would only see the blanket. This then becomes a powerful symbol of the GIFT of God COVERING US by the Blood of the Lamb. So that when God looks down on us He sees those who received the gift OF JESUS He gave us in His love.

Then we would ask them what do God see when He looks down from Heaven ON YOU, can He see you clothed in the gift that He freely gave us in love. YOU then can become part of His household and He can see you covered and protected by the Blood of His Son whom He Loves.

There is only one way to be reconciled with God and that is through the gift God gave us in love, His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Once we do receive the gift, we however need to look after it in order for it to be of value to us. Using the blanket as the example, we explain the blanket (gift) only have a value as long as we look after it. If you forget it outside, it will not be available when you need it, meaning that once we received the gift in faith, we must live our life in the knowledge that we no longer walk alone, we walk covered and protected with the Blood of the Lamb, the gift of God. Jesus said in John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

In considering what Jesus told His disciples in John 13:10 “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, we also need to repent if we sinned in accordance to God Word. For if we do not repent, it would be like a blanket that gets dirty, and needs to be washed or else you will be ashamed to clothe yourself in it and you are no longer covered by it. If we accept God’s gift in His Son Jesus Christ we must remember that sin will stain the covering and it will no longer be effective until we repent of our sins before the Father in Jesus name.

The blanket is just a tangible reminder of God’s eternal gift in His Son Jesus Christ. We however trust in God to allow that message to bear fruit to the glory of His Name and Kingdom, as Jesus said, in John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Since the gospel is the gift we received, the message can differ in accordance to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We once had an opportunity to work with a pastor in Ingwavuma who wanted to plant a new church. We asked him to identify 20 homes we could visit in the area, but we specifically asked that these homes should not be of people who belong to a church, since the purpose of church planting is to win souls for the Kingdom and not to draw old members from others churches. The idea was that at each house we would present the blanket as a gift and in so doing explaining the gospel of salvation to the members of the household, inviting to receive the gift from God in love. At every house we visited, some members surrendered their lives to Jesus, and then asked to follow us to the next house in order to hear the messages. By God grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit each house had a different messages, but an appropriate message for that household. After 2 days of home visits, their was enough people to start a church.

The blanket, is just a method that God showed us, obedience to the Holy Spirit in utilizing this method is however where the power is. God said that we must just tell the truth and He will change the hearts of people. We must never accredit the method, it is a gift from God.