knock
Why Ask?
There is a saying that has been popularized by Hollywood, but which is extremely unscriptural.
That saying is que sera, sera…what will be, will be.
There are so many scriptures that indicate that it is unscriptural, that only some will be listed here. A full blown Bible study would be required. As a reminder, various online churches, ministries, Christian bookstores and more are linked at the bottom of each post. Some of those sites listed offer books or studies on prayer. Some offer online services. YouTube videos, apps or radio or other teaching.
A blog post can only make a few introductory points.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
[Emphasis added]
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
And then, there is this, which not only applies to prayer, but also to all of the Word of God in general. In other words, the results are not “que sera sera“, but depend upon the individual building life on obedience to the Word of God.
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
One reason it is not possible to set a life on an autopilot of que sera, sera, is because of change, not only outward change, but inward change.
Consider a child that has been playing a certain sport for several years and who all of a sudden wants to play a new sport. That would require engagement with the parents, the coach, all the principals involved, probably a new uniform or perhaps equipment…it would require a new level of asking.
Likewise, individuals get to a place where prior asking and circumstances, outside forces, levels of “doing” (or not) in the past and the consequences of “doing” (or not) bring a certain outcome and that requires a new level of asking to move forward.
When God asked Adam in the garden where he was, it wasn’t because God was ignorant. Adam had to comprehend what had happened and the consequences.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
When the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David it was a similar example of self-acknowledgement.
II Samuel 12:1 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
Anyone that Jesus delivered and healed…the man who lived among the tombs from whom Jesus cast out devils, the boy who had a devil cast out and his epilepsy stopped, the woman with the issue of blood who was delivered, the blind healed, the lame healed, the deaf healed, lepers cleansed, Jairus’s daughter, Lazurus…any of them would have had to stop and re-evaluate their lives and begin again, seeking direction from the Lord, for their lives were radically changed by Jesus. Their worlds changed and a new season of life and a new season of asking, seeking, knocking, and following Jesus began.
Whether Adam, Eve, David, or in modern lives, the race is run a race to a certain point in time. At that point, a new asking, seeking, and knocking is required as seasons change.
Things are never stagnant.
Things are never on auto-pilot. Things can never be put on cruise control indefinitely. They can and should be done decently and in order, but there will of necessity be a season of change and a new season of seeking.
Que sera, sera does not exist.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Why does satan have so much power?
Jesus called satan the god of this world.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord God, they fell from the position of authority God had given Adam.
When Jesus was crucified, died, buried and resurrected, Jesus purchased back what Adam lost at the Fall. He gave that authority and power to the church.
Matthew 28:16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. 18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
We have seen instances where police have been told to stand down. Police have the authority. But if they do not use it, or are told not to use it, the badge of authority alone is not enough.
Simply having authority does not get the job done.
Basically, the church, or some of it anyway, is ignorant of its position. The church is not strictly a building, though it can refer to that. The church is made up of believers.
There are some believers who do not understand their authority in Christ. They are waiting for God to do something. But the key is in their own hands, they just don’t know it.
People are waiting for God, but God is waiting for them.
Generally, there are acts of obedience to the Word of God and Holy Spirit required at some level to get things accomplished.
God works with mankind, “the Lord working with them”. He does not do the job he has given man to do.
Mark 16:20 (KJV) And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Man’s job is to ask, seek, knock, present the promises of the Bible to God the Father in the name of Jesus, plead the blood of Jesus, pray to the Father in the name of Jesus and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing God’s purposes here on the earth.
It also involves the power of the Sacraments, and of a structured, ordered, disciplined life. “Disciple” comes from the same root as “discipline”.
If things aren’t getting done, if satan’s power seems great, it is because overall, collectively, the church overall, at large, is not using the keys left it by Jesus.
The church must use the authority of the name of Jesus. That authority was left by Jesus.
It is like a policeman standing by while a bank robbery goes on. The policeman has the authority to stop the robbery. But if the authority is not presented and if the authority is not used, then it seems like there is no power to stop the robbery.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.