"Ask Anything and Believe" pt. 2

  Today is my last post until Sept. 23, 2013. I am taking some time away before my busy fall schedule gets into full swing.

  God's promises to us are not something we are to fit into our own agendas or use to our own personal belief system. God's promises are to be accepted and read to fit His agenda. We must be so careful that we don't take something from His word and twist it to our selfishness or excitement. God's promises through His word are to be looked upon seeing what He means by what He speaks!

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mark 11:24)"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  (Matt. 21:22)
"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:19)
"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:14)

  As I stated in my previous article, these verses are not blank checks for us. We must understand the words of Jesus within the parameters of His teachings. Jesus was teaching the kingdom of God and His purposes with such. The Lord means to bring the saved of all the ages to a glorious, never ending, joy-filled life of righteousness and holiness topped off by the assurance that Jesus has triumphed over sin and death bringing us to God.

  God was bringing in a new covenant signed, sealed and delivered by the blood of His Christ! Under this covenant would be His people, the church which is His body to be a people with a redeeming purpose and saving message. It is within this framework that God's holy people is assured that it will have whatever is needed for God's purpose! Heb. 13:20-21 speak to the same issues as the above verses in light of all of this.

  When we speak to that struggling brother or sister and say, "If you need anything or if there is anything I can do for you, please call on me!" What do we mean by "anything"? If they need $100,000? A bigger house or new vehicle? No! In the setting of the statement "anything" doesn't mean everything! There are parameters and we know it and they know it!

  Your boss calls you in for a new and very important project. You tell him you might need a few things to get it done properly. He replies, "Anything you need, you get it!" In light of the context of communication, "anything" has limits and doesn't mean beyond that.

  In all this we must remember that God doesn't tell us "ask anything" putting us on His throne. God does not and will not surrender His holiness, power and sovereignty to man's requests. We know well as parents that we cannot allow our children to have "anything" they want. We will not surrender our position as a parent as the things we have learned into the hands of a child. The same with God! We need to be much better students in reading and accepting God's word within the bookends He intends and not put our two cents worth into His teachings. It's called surrender!! 

"Ask Anything and Believe"

  Let's begin here on these verses and move forward:

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mark 11:24)

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  (Matt. 21:22)
"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:19)
"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:14)

What do these verses really teach? Are these statements about prayer a blank check from heaven signed by Jesus? If these verses are speaking what it looks like on the surface, does it apply to all or only a few?

 If the Lord has given us a blank check with prayer as some would indicate then everyone would have the same access! If we take the above texts absolutely and every single Christian has a blank check where would that leave us? We could have power over nature, over weather, over life and death! We could have at our disposal power over everything which would mean God doesn't rule but we do. All we have to do is ask!! When we need something changed, wham...ask and it is yours. Like a genie in a bottle speaking, "Your wish is my command!"

Why we could abolish the lost world and save everyone. Look at the Matt. 18:19 account. Two of us pray for the salvation of every person in the world and without exception it would come true! But let's not stop there. Let's ask for the obliteration of sin in the world and it would be done!!

Then comes the words: "But God can do anything!" Yes and no. God is the Creator and all powerful. He is sovereign over all mankind. But He is also just and righteous. God created man in His image to choose and follow with their heart, not blink His eyes and all the things taken care of. To understand such verses on prayer we must understand the context of what Jesus is trying to get those to see within the framework of His purposes. If we use these as blank checks we aren't taking the word of the Lord seriously. Let's continue this in the next blog! Have a great day and spend time in prayer!!

"The Resurrected Christ"

  Have you ever sat down and thought through carefully the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Reading carefully Eph. 1:16-21, we find Paul standing in amazement wanting the Ephesians (and us) to stand in amazement. That's why the eyes of the heart need enlightened and God is the one who will do the enlightening. It took a lot to raise a dead man but there is something even bigger than such a big event.

  God raised Jesus from the dead and not just to life but immortality! Upon the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension God started over with a life of immortality. A whole new creation had begun and Christ is the source and we, the church, are part of that. A new creation began in which life would flow from the Lord Jesus (Rom. 5:14-21). A new creation of immortality in which Jesus was completely and powerful the Lord over. He rules over all in heaven and earth! The Lord Jesus would be the only One who makes those one with Him heirs. It was nothing like this physical creation in which man lives in today.

  We sing a song sometimes saying, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene...how marvelous, how wonderful." Do we really see that? Do we realize the day is coming when we will be like Him? Do we realize we will reign with Him? Do we realize that sin which is so brutal and continues to take down the little children as they grow into adulthood like the rest of us, will be dealt a final blow, obliterated and along with it death too? Jesus removed the curse and in Him is life. Do you need to sit and reflect again on what the death of Jesus really means? "I came that they might have life and life abundantly."  (John 10:10)

"Man's God"

    Man's 'god' has always been pathetic! What do I mean? Man makes the eternal, the Almighty at times the way they want Him to be. They try to manipulate what He teaches about Himself, what He reveals about Himself, stuff in a little of man's mind and there you have it: MAN'S GOD! The problem is this type of  'god' is an idol. But many hold to the 'god' they make to fit their lifestyles and attitudes.

  It is rather interesting that when Israel left the confines of Egypt by the mighty hand of Jehovah, it didn't take long and all of the fine ornaments and valuables that God had given them from the Egyptians for their wages was suddenly turned into something that was so ugly and vile. Finally, God's people...GOD'S PEOPLE (let's get this down) made a 'god' of gold and they could see. They had a 'god' they could manipulate and control. They had a 'god' that they created by their own masterminds and skills. What more could man want? Man's 'god' was so great and wonderful he could be worshiped and make man feel good about himself! This self-made god was exactly what the people wanted and was much better than God who is Spirit! This is a 'god' that was completely dependent upon man! Then God Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of man steps in and they found out that man's survival and understanding depends completely on Him and nothing else!

  But what is this to us? Today we are more sophisticated, educated and just much more advanced than any race in history. We don't worship some golden calf or bow down to tree stumps. We have advanced so far that, well, we worship almost nothing! We have no need from anyone except money to feed our desires. We are self-made and self-maintained! Why we have the best psychologists, counselors and drugs that have taken us into another realm. Don't dare tell anyone anything different from God's holy word. Don't confront us with His direction. We know what modern experts tell us and we will not allow anyone to tell us different. And if we can't cope with something, we have the miracle of drugs that have been discovered to help us cope.

  Here we march, one by one, into this world each day without armor, without direction other than what we have put our trust in from our own smartness. We too I'm afraid have created a 'god' in our own image. Worship for many is about 'us' and what makes us feel good. Our walk daily is about how we feel and make others feel. And then we must ask, why do so many have so many mental and low self-esteem issues? Why are people so lonely and empty? Why are children being trained and steeped in entertainment and self-satisfaction only to be demanding and out of control at times? Why are babies being killed each and every day because of 'freedom'? We are paying a price for man's god! Somewhere we must start listening to the voice of God through His word and yield! We too have followed Israel to the wilderness.

"Be Careful"

  Today let me share some thoughts about those of us who lovingly and intently look for the truth from Scripture. I am speaking to those of us who are committed to speaking of the word of God as all-sufficient and complete authority. By saying that many times we want everything neatly packaged with a "thus saith the Lord" ending. When false teaching seems to present itself we want verses that plainly knock it dead in its tracks and put it in the grave! There are times when we can do that with ease.
  However, it's not always easy to determine everything with such ease. Over my many years of preaching/teaching I have often heard people claim someone is a false teacher because they say something or teach something different than what we know or learned. We jump on the band-wagon of calling them false. I have seen many times where the individual was presenting something they believed to be true only to realize they misapplied the verses and were more than willing to look at them and search it out more complete. They didn't have a false heart. We have a man by the name of Apollos that was mighty in Scripture, instructed in the way of the Lord but he couldn't teach someone how to be saved (Acts 18). He had to be taken aside and taught the way of God more accurately. It can happen. Too many are quick to jump on a person as a false teacher and call them such without realizing they are sincere in their seeking and not wanting to be false. Of course if a person is presented clearly with the truth and they refuse, there begins the road to falsehood.
  Our zeal to promote what we believe to be the truth must be governed by the clarity of the evidence in its favor. Many times we have to take into consideration the covenants, who is being spoken to and why and weave many things together to get the whole teaching. It can be pain-staking and difficult to reach some clarity. It takes little to see that we can know for certain, without a doubt that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God! That's 100% sure. But we can't always have that degree of certainty about every single doctrine we stand on. Some would like to think they do but that's a little arrogant. Do we not think about what Peter said about some of the writings of Paul? "...in which are some thing hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." (II Pet. 3:16) He said they were hard, not impossible to understand which means great care must be taken and not quick to jump that our assertions are correct and the only one that is correct. Again, that's arrogance. I know there are views that I hold to that I am convicted they are correct but I'm not certain they are correct that I can say it by the mark of 100%! We must stop throwing around things from God's word giving people the impression we present the truth in all areas completely and there is nothing more! That's what the Pharisees did.
  Let's heed Paul's instruction to Timothy to "handle accurately the word of truth." (II Tim. 2:15) That means you and I struggle to see, to know and be pliable to allow things to change us as we are presented with things from God's word. Too many jump to some book or commentary to validate their stance which means that individual you rely on is your source of truth rather than let the Lord help and teach you. It's not always easy and clear and those who stand and think it is, that should concern us because there are things that aren't explicit statements in all cases! This attitude of all knowing and a correct view on everything is what has led to much division and confusion in our world from the church. No wonder people cannot see the truth of salvation as Jesus spoke: "by this will all men know that you are My disciples because you have love for one another."  I just wanted to give us all something to think about!!

"A Wicked Child"

  The father and mother came to the elders looking for encouragement and help for their son who had gone astray from the Lord and demonstrated behavior that was destructive. Their son had done something that would probably call for some prison time. There is nothing that hurts to the depths than a child that wanders into sin and death and especially when it's to this degree. The pain just stays with the parent. Here were two lovely children of God who raised their family to seek the Lord and their son had gone into the depths of sin. Elders should have some godly advice for them, shouldn't they? There should be some comfort to draw from the God of all comfort (II Cor. 1), should there? Their counsel said that their son is a product of how they raised him!! On top of the pain they must also live with guilt. How can men, who are supposedly the spiritual leaders of God's people, be so shallow in their thinking and lacking spiritual insight?

  In Ezekiel 18, we have a great description of God holding people accountable for their sins. In verses 10-13 we have a righteous man who has a wicked son. Yes, it can happen! (And there is also the reverse where a wicked father can end up with a godly son!) Why don't we believe that? A son that has been taught from infancy can end up choosing to do everything his father would not do and refuse to do everything his father would do! We have the righteous defined in verses 5-9. I realize there are many children whose parents are walking in shame because their parents didn't care for them properly or walk with the Lord. That's understood. But we must realize that once our children leave home, it is now their faith and their choices in their faith, not the parents. Many children live in the gutter in spite of good raising, prayers and tears of discipline. The Lord knows that too. Ask King David about his children. This king, even though he failed as we failed in things in our own lives, was called a man after God's own heart! Yet his son tried to over-throw his father with lies and deceit.

  We must not throw suspicion on godly mothers and fathers of wicked and even sometimes worthless kids holding the parents responsible. Parents, be an example. Discipline your children. Keep humility toward the Lord at the front of your life. Make certain the family knows that Jesus is Lord. But these don't guarantee. There are still choices each individual makes. It doesn't take much to look at this: who was Adam's father? Hmmmm...and what did Adam choose? 

"Discovering God"

  He was known as a great leader and man of strength for the people. The man continually sought the face of the Lord and destroyed places that desecrated His name. He became famous throughout the world and very strong militarily for the people. His name was King Uzziah. King Uzziah brought dignity and power to God's people. One thing cost him dearly. With all his strength and fame came a proud heart. It seems to always happen and his pride got the best of him. Because of his power as king, he felt he could enter into the temple of God where the priests were only allowed and burn his own incense. The result: the Lord struck him with leprosy. To the day of his death, he was a leper.

  Isaiah speaks of the death of King Uzziah (Isa. 6). What a major blow to Israel. Israel's great hero was gone but something else happens. God shows Himself to be alive and in control! Too many put their faith, their trust in man. Isaiah believed deeply in God but also in this king. One can't do both! In all this we find a truthful reality: no matter what happens among man in disappointments or tragedy of life, God lives and rules and wants us to know it!

  I pray that God may grant to each one of us that if and when tragedy comes into our lives, we will find ourselves as Isaiah, "in the temple" discovering that God is sitting in Majesty and power. We find hurts that come and sometimes the pain is intense and there is God, waiting for you and I to look and seek. Even though things around us change, He doesn't. I pray the words Isaiah spoke might be the words we speak in faith: "In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple." (Isa. 6:1) May we discover and say: "In the year that my wife/husband (son/daughter or someone else) died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted..." "In the year our business went under, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted..." "In the year my marriage folded, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted..." "In the year when our little baby was born with defects, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted..." We need to discover the greatness and awesome power of Jehovah God!