Ask! Seek! Knock!

Here are some excellent observations from one of my fathers in the ministry, good friend, and golf buddy... Enjoy! 

 

 

 

Ask!   Seek!   Knock!      

“My Two Cents Worth”   5-25-11

We are living in a world today where many, seeking to be righteous, go by the phrase “just name it and claim it.”  Their point of theology is one of receiving everything you ask for, usually in a health or financial sense, or both; by putting God under obligation to provide it for them due to their “exercise” of faith.  They misuse and abuse a well known scripture found in Matthew chapter 7, verses  7-8.  

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Just what is this scripture pertaining to when it states we are to ask, seek, and knock?   It is either relating to things earthly (material) or things spiritual; one or the other.  We would be breaking one of the commandments if this were relating to things of an earthly or material nature.  One of the ten commandments states we are not to covet.  Therefore, asking for material things as a priority in our lives would be against the intended meaning of this scripture.  In addition, we are told to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33.  

The things which we are to ask, seek, and knock after is relating to those things which are spiritual; mainly asking, seeking, and knocking on the door of understanding of God’s will for us in our lives.  We are to continuously ask for spiritual guidance.  Peter related to this when he said we “have not, because ye ask not.”  Prayer is the path we are to use in asking God for guidance and instruction.  Reading God’s written word and praying for understanding goes a long way in achieving spiritual guidance and direction for our lives..  

The second thing we are to do is to seek.  One of the best ways to seek is to not only read God’s written word and listen to good, sound, preaching;  but also to study God’s word.  To study His word is to seek to know what His will is for us in giving Him praise, honor, and glory.  Acts 17:11 teaches us what to do when it said that those in Thessalonica “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so.” We cannot find that which we need if we are not seeking, or looking, for it.  Remember, it is not about us; it is all about HIm. 

What then, is the knocking all about?  This is NOT a knocking in an attempt to get Jesus to open up the door of salvation to us as is taught oftentimes in the world today.  But rather, it is a knocking on the door of understanding.  It is not us who opens the door of understanding.  Jesus is the only one that can open this door for us.  We are to “knock” as a show of our faith.  

Look again at the passage found in Matthew 7:7-8.   If we ask in prayer for guidance and direction, the Lord has promised to give it to us.  If we seek to know His will, he has promised that we shall find His will for us.  And, if we knock, God has promised to open a door of understanding unto us which will result in manifold blessings and benefits in the kingdom of God.  

To ask, to seek, and to knock takes work on our part.  Listen to what James says in James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  Let us today be up and about our Master’s business of giving Him that praise, honor, and glory by knowing more about His will for us.  But then, that is just “my two cents worth.”  

 

Elder Bobby Willis

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“In God We Trust”