June 2007

Ask ... Seek ... Knock

"<Guess the verse>"

Did you guess that this message is going to be about the verse "Ask and it shall be given ... Seek and you shall find ... Knock and it shall be opened"? That's a good guess, but it is really not about the words of Jesus directed toward us. Rather, this is about words that need to be from Us directed to Jesus. Let me explain.

Our God is a generous, loving God and He always wants His children to ask, seek and knock for their needs. And this God never ceases to give what we need. His love is everlasting, He is forgiving and gracious and He is a God of abundance in everything. This is the reason why He boldly told us to ask, seek and knock in His name and that we can be sure that it will be done.

For a moment let's turn these words toward God. Have you ever wondered what it will be like for You and Me to tell the Lord, "Lord, Ask and I will give You, Seek and You will find, Knock and I will open"? Let me explain.

Did you know that God always "Asks" for something from us? Did you know that He is "Seeking for" and "Knocking on" something in our lives? The question is, "Are you ready to give the Lord what He needs?"

In the book of Matthew chapter 9 there's an incident where a man came to Jesus and told Him that he has been perfect in every way, kept the 10 commandments and been really good. But Jesus told that if he is really perfect, he got to forsake all of his own and "follow Him". But that rich man could not offer what Jesus asked for, and so he went away sad. Jesus did not mean for him to become a pauper in order to follow Him. He simply meant that this man had too much treasures where he has set his heart on. But Jesus asked for ALL OF HIS HEART. Jesus asked for him to Treasure Jesus and not the other glamours of the world. Is there something that you are treasuring more than God? The bible says in Mark 12:28-30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Can you give up ALL of yourself to the Lord without any reservations?

When we treasure anything more than the Lord, that simply means that there are some locked-up rooms in our heart, where God has no permission to enter. For example, there could be a room in your heart called "Unforgiving" or "Bitterness" against something that has happened in the past and you are keeping all of those hard feelings inside of you, not willing to give them to the Lord. Guess what, my friend. Jesus is continuously knocking on those doors of your heart, because he wants to enter into those locked-up rooms of your heart and set you free with His peace and joy. Can you now give all the rooms of your heart to the Lord and say "Lord, Knock and I shall open the door for You"?

As we know God is a God of holiness, when we open those rooms of our heart, the first thing we need to check is to see if this heart of ours is clean enough for this Holy God to enter in. In order for us to be clean, we need to sweep the house continually. This simply means that we need to ask God (pray to Him) to cleanse us and purify us everyday and He will make us holy so that our worship, adoration, opening up of our heart to Him, will be an offering pleasing in His sight. Because the bible says that God is "seeking" for true worshippers.

Maybe it is time for us to revisit our lives yet another time and ask ourselves these questions,
* Are we really in a position to give God what He is ASKing for or should we do something about it now?
* Will He find in us what He is SEEKing for
* Are we pure and holy for Him to enter in when He KNOCKs at our heart's door?

If you have not decided to give all of yourself to God yet, I would strongly urge you now, my friend, to give the Lord all of yourself, because He once gave all of Himself for us to live and be freed from sin and death. Will you give yourself to the Lord completely?

May the Lord help you find comfort, strength and His divine peace as you strive to give all of yourself to Him.

Have a blessed month !!!

Your friend,
Eshcol