Ask (Strong’s 154) Aiteo
ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require
·
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given”
o
Why wasn’t this mentioned when Jesus was discoursing
on prayer, in Matthew 6:5 for example?
o
In order to receive you MUST ask
o
The preposition “it” is not used in the Greek
text for the phrase, “ask and it will be given”. ‘It’ is used regarding the door.
o
Ask and you will be given to
o
You will be given good gifts.
·
The dictionary definition of “ ask” is to put a question to, to
inquire about’ to request of or for’ to require or call for’ to expect or
demand’ to invite’ to use words in seeking the answer to (a question)
o
Everyone receives if they ask
o
Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you
and tell you great and unsearchable thing you do not know.”
o
John 14:14 “I will do whatever you ask in my
name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything
in my name and I will do it.”
o
“If you remain in Me and MY words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish and it will be given you” John 15:7.
o
1 John 3:22 “We receive from Him anything we ask
because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.”
o
Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call I will answer
while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
How to get answers
1. Ask
God for wisdom (James 1:5)
2. Ask
according to His will (1 John 5:14) [according is Vulgate Latin for to be heart
to heart with]
3. Call
to Me (Jeremiah 33:3)
4. Ask
(Matthew 7:7)
5. Ask
in Jesus’ name (John 14:14,15)
6. Remain
in Me and My words remain in you (John 15:7)
7. Obey
His commands and do what pleases Him (1 John 3:22)
8. Share
your food (Isaiah 58)
9. Shelter
the homeless (Isaiah 58)
10. Clothe
the naked (Isaiah 58)
11. Do
not turn away from your relatives (Isaiah 58)
12. Believe
(Matthew 21:22)
If you do this:
v
Your light will break forth
v
Your healing will appear
v
Your righteousness will go before you
v
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard
v
When you call God will answer
v
When you cry for help He will be there
How NOT to get answers
(Isaiah 58)
v
Do as you please
v
Exploit your workers
v
Quarreling and striving and fighting among
yourselves
v
Have a pointing finger and malicious talk
Why would you ask Jesus in Jesus’ name? Are you not asking
the Father in Jesus’ name? Now, we can go directly to the Father because Jesus
cleared the way. By going in Jesus’ name, we are saying that Jesus co-signed
our loan and the Father has to approve it before it happens. If you do not ask
in Jesus’ name, the loan will be turned down because of an inability to pay.
Before you ask for the loan think, “Would I
be willing to co-sign for what this person wants?”
If you use the definition of ask, “To use words in seeking
the answer (to a question”, there must be more to asking than merely asking.
The next step is to Seek.
SEEK
Seek and you will find (Matthew 7:7)
To seek is to search for, to endeavor to obtain or reach; to
try; attempt; to aim at; to try to find
Seek (Strong’s 2212) zeteo
to seek, specifically to worship God, desire, enquire, endeavor, require
(Strong’s 1245) baquash
to search out specifically by worship or prayer
FIND: to come upon by accident or by a search; to attain; to
determine; ascertain; to recover; regain, that which is found especially a rare
or valuable discovery’ to perceive, learn to decide and declare to be
Find (Strong’s 2147) heureo
to find, get, obtain, perceive, see
Requirements to finding
v
Seek with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13, Deut.
4:29)
o
Seeking is usually in reference to seeking God
v
Look to the Lord’s strength (Psalms 105:4)
v
Praise: They that seek the Lord will praise Him
(Ps 23:26)
Benefits of seeking
v
Finding
v
Lack no good thing (Ps 34:10)
v
Rejoice and be glad (Ps 70:4)
v
Life and receives favor (Pr. 8:35)
o
With God (wisdom) are:
§
Riches
§
Honor
§
Enduring wealth
§
Prosperity
§
Valuables greater than silver or gold
o
(Pr. 8:17-21) Therefore, God (wisdom) bestows:
§
Wealth on those who love Me
§
Makes their treasuries full
(Matthew 6:33) “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these thing will be added unto you.”
How do you seek with all
your heart?
v
Be Pure
in heart (Matthew 5:8)
v
Where
your treasure is there also is your heart (Matthew 6:21)
v
Jesus was meek
and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29)
v
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34)
v
Understand
with your heart (Matthew 13:15)
v
Realize and avoid
evil thoughts that come from your heart (Matthew 15:19)
v
Love the
Lord with all your heart (Matthew 22:37)
v
Do not
harden your heart (Mark 8:17)
v
Realize
that there are both good and evil treasures of the heart (Mark 6:45)
o
The Heart is the thought or feelings (mind), the
middle, the innermost area or part.
If you do something because you are ordered to do it, it is
easy not to put your whole heart into it.
KNOCK
Knock is to rap,
knock, to strike with a blow or series of blows; to produce by hitting
DOOR “I am the
Door (John 10:9)
OPENED (Strong’s
455) to open up, affording unobstructed passage or entrance and exit; having no
cover; exposed; not sealed, tied, or folded; unrestricted; to remove
obstructions from; to reveal the secrets of
OPEN DOOR
v
Knock and it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7)
v
A door of effective work opened for Paul (1 Co.
16:9)
v
Door open to preach (2 Co. 2:12)
v
Christ holds the key of David and opens and
shuts things (Rev. 3:8)
ASK—Inquire
SEEK—Worship
KNOCK—Go through Jesus. He has the Key of David (Salvation),
we have the keys of the Kingdom (binding and loosing)
Only by going through Jesus can we get through the door of
salvation. He is the ONLY one who has this key; after entering, we will be
given the keys of binding and loosing.
Do not be afraid to ask! Remember when you were afraid to
ask to use the car because you thought your father would say no, but when you
finally got the courage up, he said yes. Do we do the same with our Heavenly
Father?
Why are we afraid to ask?
v
Fear of rejection
v
Afraid the answer will be no anyway (it might
not be God’s will)
v
Fear of punishment
v
Fear of getting a long lecture
v
Fear of having past incidences brought up
How well do you know your Heavenly Father?
What does your Father
automatically give you? (Matthew 6:25-34)
v
Food
v
Life/Body
v
Clothing
Being afraid to ask generates
what kinds of feelings
v
Fear
v
Low self-esteem
v
Worry/anxiety
v
Sadness/depression
v
Guilt
v
Rejection
Sometimes when we think God is saying no to our request, He
is actually giving us something better than what we asked for; it just takes us
a while to see it.
How important is our request to us? Do we continue reminding
God of the request because we want it so badly, or are we satisfied asking
once, which gives the impression that it is not all that important if He gives
it to us or not. If God says no, take it as no and move on, but at least ask
until He tells you yes, no, or wait.
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