Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Everyone Who Asks Receives - Apples of Gold - January 5, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 5, 2010

“Everyone Who Asks Receives”

 

Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

In the Sermon on the
Mount Jesus said, “…everyone who asks receives…”

That’s in Matthew chapter seven.  In verse seven He said, “Ask and it will be given to you…”

Then to emphasize the point He declared, “If 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!”

It’s pretty clear.  The Lord wants us to ask Him for good gifts.  Who doesn’t want good gifts?

In Luke 11 Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you…for everyone who asks receives…”

Philippians 4:6 tells us to, “in everything,” present our requests to God.

So God is saying, “Go ahead, ask.”

“Well, Doug, I’ve asked God for a lot of things and it doesn’t seem to do any good.”

Okay, there could be several reasons for that.

First of all, look at First John 5:14.  It says, “…if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Yes, we can have what we ask for, but we should ask for things that are in line with God’s will.

Now look at First John 3:22.  It says we can “receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.”

So yes, we need to be asking God.  And we need to be obeying His commands and asking according to His will.

Now here’s an important consideration.  Why are we asking?  James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

So yes, we are to be asking God for things, but check to see if you just want them for your own pleasure.  God said that is a wrong reason for asking. 

In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, “…you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Oh, but that is not His entire statement.  He actually said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  The verse before that says, “…if you have faith and do not doubt…”

James 1 says, “…he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord…”

So yes, we are to ask God for things.  He wants to give us good gifts, and they are there for the asking; but when we ask and don’t receive, there are some things we need to check.

We need to check if we are asking according to His will, or are we asking simply for our own pleasure.

We need to check if we are obeying Him, if we are doing what pleases God.

And we need to check if we are asking in faith.  Do we believe and not doubt?

Now here is a faith building verse.  Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do “…immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”

So we know God is able, so why don’t we get every thing we ask for?

Look at John 15:7.  Jesus said, “…ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”  Oh but wait.  He said something else to start that statement.  He said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you…”

So this thing of asking God and receiving what we’ve asked for, it’s kind of like a partnership.  It’s very much like a child asking a father for something.  The child needs to be in good standing with the father if he expects to receive from him. 

In John 15 Jesus said, “…I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

Now here’s a good example in the Bible of someone asking Jesus for something and not receiving it.  In Mark 10, James and John said to Jesus, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.  Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

And I love Jesus’ answer.  He said, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

Oh, they probably had faith enough, and they were certainly true followers of Christ, but what was their motivation?

And look at Mark 10:40.  Jesus said, “…to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.  These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

So it wouldn’t have mattered how much the disciples asked, or how perfectly they behaved and believed, they were not going to get that particular request.  God had other plans.

No, we won’t get everything we ask for.  And the things we can get – they can be hindered by our lack of faith, or lack of obedience, or impure motives.

So do we stop asking?  Not at all!  We just need to fine tune our asking, to bring it in line with God’s will.

The good news is that God wants us to keep asking.  Our Father is just waiting to give good gifts to those who ask. 

And we can put our complete faith in these powerful words of Jesus:  Everyone who asks receives.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for
Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000

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