Ask, Seek, Knock… and Repeat – I Want to Know What Love Is– Purity 754

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of sunset over what I believe to be Enclote River Park in Holiday, Florida comes to us from a friend's recent family vacation to the Sunshine— Sunshine State. Although we won't enjoy an extended holiday weekend this weekend, we can still thank God it is Friday and may find comfort in this last regular weekend that we may— that we may know for months to come. Uh, what am I talking about? Well, while I don't look too far ahead as a rule, a glance at the calendar tells me the times they are a-changing. Uh, next weekend is Father's Day. And so no matter what your situation is or how well you feel about that Hallmark holiday to recognize your dear old dad, next weekend is not a normal weekend. And the following week, school is out for the summer, kids. And with the end of the school year, the season of summer is undeniable, and all the regularity that accompanies the school year is gone. While it is a relief for some, it is a burden to others. And even if your kids are out of school or you don't have kids, you are still affected by the school year because of the changes in the traffic patterns as buses are off the road. And you have to be aware of the fact that kids could be darting into traffic because they aren't safely locked away in school. So hey, enjoy this last regular weekend because you really won't see another one until after Labor Day. Um, but that's okay. As this will be my 50th summer, I am sure, uh, that we will settle into our summer routine pretty quickly as we are remarkable— remarkably resilient at adapting to change, even though we may not like it or feel we aren't good at dealing with, with changes. Uh, the truth is life is rolling with the punches, and in my almost 50 years of life, I have discovered that we don't have to grin and bear it grin and bear the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune alone. Last night I met with the Men's Freedom in Christ discipleship group and we discussed the process of renewing the mind, where we recognize the lies we have believed and the worldly coping mechanisms we have developed in our lives before coming to Christ, and how we can change the way we think, the way we live, and the way we feel by learning what God's word says about who we are in Christ and how we can experience the peace, love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness, patience, and self-control—the fruit of the Spirit—that comes from a life dedicated to walking in the Spirit. Some of the advice that Christ gave his disciples is found in Matthew 7:7-14, where he said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven Give good things to those who ask him. Here, Jesus encourages his disciples to trust that God is good, and that if they pursue a life of faith, their Father who is in heaven will give them good things. Notice, Jesus didn't say he will give you everything you want. I would say that although the blessings we receive in this life of faith will vary greatly between individuals, according to God's purposes. The good things all of us can experience are those fruit of the Spirit. Those good things indicate God cares about our character a lot more than giving us a bunch of stuff. I'm not saying the Lord won't provide other good material and experiential things when you decide to follow him, but I would, I would state that God is not necessarily out to make all Christians rich. God wants us to ask, seek, and knock. He wants us to be rich in faith and have a rich relationship with Him. The way I look at the threefold encouragement to seek the Lord and the good things He has for us is like this: Ask. To ask is to say something in order to obtain an answer or some information, or to make a request to do something, to receive something, or to give something. The verbal component in asking indicates a conversation and a relationship. With God, we are seeking information and help. To ask, we have to talk with God. With Him, we can speak out loud or converse silently in prayer. Jesus is telling us to talk to God. Seek. To seek is to attempt to find something. Seeking God is to seek the truth. The answers to the questions of life, death, purpose, and meaning. Jesus is telling us to take personal responsibility to get to know God and his will for our lives, to make our relationship with him based on our love for him that is demonstrated by our seeking to know him and to do what he would have us do. In seeking the Lord, we read his word. Examine our experience, and try to apply his wisdom to our lives moment to moment. Knock. To knock means to strike a surface noisily to attract attention, especially when waiting to be let in through a door. So knocking is seeking to be let in. The implication is that Christ is encouraging us to want to be let in, to to all that God has for us. But knocking points to action. It is more than a hoping and a praying, and is more than seeking. Knocking is acting. We take our hands and reach out and exert force to demonstrate we want in. It's putting our best hand forward, an attempt to be let into a life with God. Knocking is a step of faith where we say, I want it and I'm going to do something to get it. Knocking points to acts of faith, and believe me, that is when you get let in. When you follow the Lord's leading and do something. When you stretch yourself, step out of the box, and try something in faith and leave the results up to God. It's up to God to open the door, but we have to demonstrate that we are serious about getting let in. By knocking, and sometimes we have to be persistent. I love the way the NLT puts Matthew 7:7. It says, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. So as we enter into the weekend, remember to enjoy this last regular weekend, but let me encourage you to also attempt to make what is ordinary extraordinary by showing the Lord that you want in to all that he has for you. The process of asking, seeking, and knocking is a process of trusting the Lord and pursuing the good things he has for you, but knowing that this process involves seeking his answers, accepting them, and shaping our lives to be in accordance to them. Rather than pounding on a door demanding that the Creator of the universe give us what I want. So keep walking and talking with God, and you will discover that the good things he has for you were not the things that you expected, but they are much better than anything that you would have thought to ask for. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, and they say, love is patient and love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of, record of being wronged. Today's Bible verses on love are descriptive of how we would proper probably, how we would probably know what love is. I want to know what love is, I want you to show me. You know, I cringe when I think of the '80s, but not for nothing, I looked at the lyrics to that Foreigner song from 1984, and unlike most of the decade of decadence, shallow and lame offerings, It was pretty deep. Uh, the lyrics say, I, I've got to take a little time, a little time to think things over. I better read between the lines in case I need it when I'm older. This mountain I must climb feels like a world upon my shoulders. Through the clouds I see love shine, keeps me warm as life grows colder. In my life, There's been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again. Can't stop now. I've traveled so far to change this lonely life. And you know what he wants to know? That's right, what love is. Homeboy needs Jesus. He needs to know the embodiment of love. And John 3:16, it says, for God loved the world so much that he gave his His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. That's love, to save that which is lost because of love. And today's verse gives us more truth on love. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It's not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Hate to say it, but obviously God is sharing these truths about love because we get it wrong. When love becomes possessive and controlling, we will be irritable, keep ongoing records of the wrongs done, become jealous, and we will lose patience and be unkind. God is telling us that love is not supposed to be that way. So in our love relationships, we have to remember these truths on love and not be boastful, proud, or demand our own way. And instead apply the truth of what God says love is and who demonstrates what love is and follow his example. You want to know what love is? Study these two verses from 1 Corinthians and try to live them. As always, I invite all to go to M.t. Clark.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ With their walk today, we, uh, continue sharing from Clinton Arnold's Powers of Darkness. Um, as, as always, we share it for entertainment purposes and educational purposes, and we encourage you to purchase, uh, uh, Clinton Arnold's book on the powers of darkness. Um, today, um, we start part 1 of his book, and it tells us the 1st century belief in the powers And, uh, it covers, uh, the first section covers magic and divination. Uh, so if you want to see what, you know, the first century thought those, those powers and principalities were, um, you know, start reading, start reading the, uh, the excerpt that I'm gonna, I'm gonna lay down on the blog each day, and it'll give you more knowledge and insight and like a historical perspective on, you know, what the Apostle Paul was writing about when he was talking about the prince, you know, the powers and principalities of darkness. And, uh, it's quite revealing, um, about the way things were. And that really shows, you know, how far, you know, how Christianity has changed, because it really highlights the spiritual beliefs of, you know, antiquity, what people once believed commonly, you know, amongst everyone, um, and how superstitious and, you know, how demonic Uh, it really was. And, uh, obviously God came in, uh, through the person of Jesus Christ to show us the truth and lead us out of that darkness and to, to resist the, the, the devil and the powers of darkness. So that's what we're here to do. Um, we resist the devil and, uh, and he flees from us as we walk and talk with God on this path of Christian discipleship. Um, you know, the, the classes I share on the podcast are all about who we are in Christ and, uh, recognizing the reality of those powers of darkness, uh, and how we resist them. And the good news is we don't necessarily need holy water and a crucifix, um, you know, and a Catholic priest to do an exorcism. Um, our victory comes from standing, uh, standing in our faith standing in our identity in Christ. So whether we're tempted by, you know, our flesh, the world, or the devil, the, the answer is the same. Be a Christian. Be who you are in Christ. And remember that by renewing your mind and, and knocking. You know, gotta act on it too. It's one thing to say, say you believe it. It's not one thing to seek the truth. It's another thing to apply the truth. And be changed by it. And that's what Christ did. He came to, you know, to, you know, who the Son sets free is free indeed. He came to set us free from the world system and all the lies that it teaches us and all the, you know, unwise ways it tells us to find peace or happiness in this world. True happiness comes from peace with God. If you don't have that Nothing's— nothing will satisfy. Um, so keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking for the good things of God, and you'll find them. Because God is real and he's a good father, and he wants you to— he wants you to pursue him on this path. So do that. Um, happy Friday. If you got nothing else to be thankful for, guys, you really forgot who you are in Christ. Um, You can be thankful it's Friday. Let's start there. So if you haven't done your gratitude practice today, say, thank God it's Friday. Thank God I'm alive. Thank God— well, we don't know what your health is, so we're going to say, thank God I'm alive. And, uh, you know, thank God that God has revealed himself and shown me that if nobody else loves me, God loves me. And God has good things for me if I only seek ask and knock them, uh, knock, knock them, knock for them, uh, to ask to be let in. Uh, Lord, I want to be let in to all that you have for my life, and, um, I'm willing to knock and I'm willing to ask and I'm willing to seek, uh, because you're a good Father and you got good things for us. And Christians like, like myself will tell you to do that, and that you will find that fruit growing in your life, and you'll know, you'll know what love is because you'll know the love of the Lord and, uh, and just how good he is to us. Um, that's all I got to say about that. And so let's, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Thank you for the great love that you showed us, uh, and for teaching us what love is, and by showing us that You really love us because you, you, you sent Christ to show us the truth. He gave us the Bible so we could learn the truth, and your Holy Spirit encourages us, uh, to, to follow the truth and to experience all the fruit that he has for us to experience. Lord, we pray for the people listening today. We pray for them to enjoy this last regular weekend before summer kicks in. And, uh, Lord, we just We just pray that, um, you're, you're walking with them, Lord, and you're, you're right there with them to hear them ask and seek and knock. And, and Lord, we know, um, that you're good and that you'll, you know, give them good things, Lord. So we're praying for those good things, whether it's healing, financial blessings, or just, you know, nothing wrong happening. Um, we, we pray for those good things to happen in the people who are listening., today. Um, Lord, we pray for you to go before all of us today. Uh, Lord, you, you know, as I've been walking and talking with you, Lord, we know that you go, you know, we're— anything good to happen in my life, I know it's because of you, because you're sovereign. And so, Lord, we just really appreciate that you go before us and that you're leading us, uh, as we go. We pray for you to open our eyes to the things we need to see, open our hearts and minds to the things we need to know and experience. And Lord, please go before us to, to lead us into the good works that you want us to do, where we can demonstrate, um, our faith, where we can knock, when we can step out in faith, put our best foot or push best hand forward, um, to represent you in this world and to, to share the love that you, you've given us. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.