Ask, Seek, Knock

Our church needs to be the refuge from the world. We must bend over backwards to open our doors to ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN. The church was built for sinners, not for the perfect. None of us would get into heaven without God’s forgiveness and God’s grace. The church is the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus opened his heart to everyone. We must follow Jesus to open our hearts to everyone who needs our church in their time of need.

It is human nature to make up our minds about people without having a lot of the facts. We judge people by the way they dress, the way they talk, or the way that they act. We judge people by hearsay and gossip. We don’t wait for all of the facts, but we have an opinion and from that opinion we judge others so quickly.

Matthew 7:1-6 tells us about judging others. It says: 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

It is God who judges. It is too easy for us to judge others, but it is not out job. We are supposed to show love and compassion for our neighbor. Romans 14:10 says “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.” We will stand before God to receive our judgment. God will forgive us if we forgive others. Jesus reached out to the least, lost, and the last. Jesus did not judge them. He reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus told her about the everlasting water that if we drink it we will never thirst again. Jesus welcomed tax collectors and fishermen into his ministry. He didn’t judge them; Jesus used them to teach others about God. In fact, Matthew, James, and John are loved disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t tell them to go away, leave the church, or stay out of sight. God used Moses after he killed a man. Moses is loved for being a man of God even though he was not perfect. God still loved King David after he committed adultery.

Jesus said, in Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. 20At once they left their nets and followed him.” Jesus didn’t judge Simon Peter, Andrew, James, or John. Jesus saw the men of God that they would become. Jesus saw those men by the sea with the eyes of faith. We need to spend more time seeing the potential in people and loving them. We need to see with the eyes of faith and we need to speak with faith so that they become the men and women of faith that God planned for them.

Jesus did not tell the future disciples to go home, take a bath, get a haircut, buy a new suit, and get an education and then follow me. Jesus just said, “Come, follow me.” Being used by God is just that simple. We need to follow Jesus. We also need to encourage others to follow Jesus. It is when people are the farthest from God’s grace that we need to love them and help them to see the light shining in the darkness. We are blocking God’s plan if we judge and tell people that they are bad and we are good. We are blocking God’s forgiveness and grace.

Why do we feel so much better when we judge others? Is it the process of pushing others down to feel worse that makes us feel better? Why can’t we feel better when we reach out our hand to pull someone up from the hole that they’ve dug for themselves? Why can’t we feel better when we show compassion and love? Let’s leave judgment to God. Let’s share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone who is in need of God’s love.

I’ve thought about writing a book about the ways God has used me. People said that it would be good to write the book about each city that I’ve worked in Ghana. Annette Saul said it would be nice if there was a chapter on Callaway. I saw the start of the story last Sunday.

We had so many things happen right out of scripture. I took my anointing oil out of my Bible case so that I could pray. I preached a good sermon. We celebrated communion to remember the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The service was ending right on time, so I decided not to ask for anyone who needed prayer. I had a feeling we needed to pray for someone, but I didn’t follow through with that feeling.

I want to talk about the gift of discernment. Webster’s dictionary defines discernment as the power of acute observation, perception, or the sight into the middle of things. Ephesians defines discernment as the “insight into the truth of Christ.” God gave us gifts of the Holy Spirit. Discernment is one of those gifts. Another way to explain discernment is being able to understand the will of God and acting on that will. Many of us know what God wants us to do, but we don’t listen and we don’t act on that knowledge. Everyone hears God, but only a few listens to God.

Penny Wright has the gift of discernment. She had that urge to ask Odessa how she was feeling. Odessa told Penny that her back really ached. Penny then told Odessa that Walter would probably pray for her. I didn’t know that Odessa needed prayer. I just knew that we were meant to pray for someone. Penny had the gift of discernment to understand that Odessa was the person who needed prayer. Penny and Annette called for me from the front of the church. They asked for prayers.

I was so glad to that Penny asked for prayers. I anointed Odessa’s forehead with oil and laid my hands on her back where she was in pain. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit work as we prayed together. We quickly realized that Carolyn also needed prayers. The prayer time with Carolyn was very moving to me as well. Penny discerned or knew who needed prayer. I have the gift of prayer, but I needed Penny’s discernment to know who needed prayer last week.

Now, let’s continue with Matthew 7:7-12: 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Penny Wright asked for prayers for Odessa Poff. She was not even asking for prayers for herself. Verse 7:12 says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Penny would love someone to pray for her and she was willing to ask for prayers for her friend. This scripture is so important. It explains that there are three steps: 1. we must ask God, 2. we must seek God, and 3. we must knock on God’s door. Matthew 7:7 teaches that the consequence of asking, seeking, and knocking is that the door to God will be opened to us. We will never know what gifts God has for us if we never ask God in prayer for those gifts and blessing. First, we must seek God by learning God’s word and worshipping God. God will give us good gifts if we just go to God in prayer.

I really loved my time on Tuesday. Bill Webb, Karl Poff, Wayne Bussey, R.L. Webb, and I dug the ditch for the foundation of our new church building. We were amazed how quickly we dug the ditch. It actually took us most of the day, but the time goes quickly when we were working together. We talked and joked a lot.

The progress on the building is going slow. The builder did not build the building according to the architectural plans. It will take extra effort and costs to get the addition approved by the building inspectors. I remember trying to build a foundation for a kitchen for a school in Africa.

I prayed for the rain to hold off until we could pour the concrete. I prayed, but the rain came anyway. I tried to understand why God was letting it rain. Men were running with wheelbarrows and buckets filled with concrete to the foundation. The rain was coming so fast that the foundation was getting filled with water. I grabbed a shovel to dig a ditch to drain the water away from the concrete. Many of the men were from the local village. They were not members of the church. The rain unified us all to get the foundation poured for the kitchen. Later, I was told that one of the men had many problems. He felt like the rain was washing away his sins. He joined the church the next week. The rain stopped and the concrete was able to make a strong foundation.

We will be able to have a strong foundation for our church both physically and spiritually. I am thankful that there are men and women of God who are willing to ask God for prayer for those in need. I am thankful that the church is willing to seek the truth of Jesus Christ in their lives and to share the love of Jesus Christ with anyone who comes in their path. I was excited to see a friend invited to our church last week. We will have every pew filled quickly if we all ask just one friend to worship with us.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-25: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Our plan is that we will build our lives on a firm foundation. The wind and rain of this world will blow, but we will stand firm. Also, the foundation of our church will be strong. We are building on faith that we will find the money and time to build a place to learn about God. Let us remember these words: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” The door to the kingdom of God is open if we just believe with faith that God will bless our lives today and forever. Let us knock on God’s door and enter into God’s presence!