Title Goo Hara / Matthew 7: 7 -11
Content Introduction
There are commands that benefit people and commands that harm people. An order issued by a dictator is an order that harms the people. However, when a doctor orders a patient to abstain from certain foods, it is a command that benefits the patient. Also, a man's command, even if it is for good, can cause harm through wrong judgment. However, all the commands that God gives are commands given to benefit us and to bless us.
Jesus gives us good commands to benefit us.
I. The Lord's Command to Seek
Jesus told us to ask God. He said it over and over again three times.
Only those who know their own shortcomings will be saved. Therefore, Jesus told us to ask because human beings are fragile beings that cannot live without God's help. Therefore, it is a blessing to know your own shortcomings. So Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit and those who mourn and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Today, it is said that Korea is prosperous. In the past, there was a barley ridge and a lamp was used, but now there is leftover rice and various electric appliances are overflowing. But morally it got even worse. When our church was first planted, it was difficult for a few members to manage it by renting a small second-floor shopping mall. I was also criticized a lot for being noisy. And I had a lot of debt to build the church, so it was hard, but now I can pay off all the debt and build a branch church. You could say that I have really improved materially. But is your faith really rich?
We still have shortcomings that cannot be solved without God's help. That is my devastated faith. Such is the problem with children who do not grow up properly. Such is the problem of trials or trials that we cannot overcome by our own strength.
God's blessings belong to those who ask. Worrying and praying are two different things. Simply hoping and asking God directly is the difference between heaven and earth. The Bible tells us not to be anxious. Instead, He tells us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Don't be discouraged and worry about the problem. No one is without problems. He tells you to pray because you have a problem. Please be sure that any problems or difficulties you have will be a good opportunity to experience the existence of God.
Dear saints, Don't you think that God doesn't love you without even praying hard? The book of James says that the prayer of faith has a lot of working power. Prayer changes things. Change the territory, change the home, change the church. Even if we have sinned against God, He promised that He would listen to our sins if we repent.
II. pray in action
The prayer Jesus taught is to pray and make an effort at the same time. So, he commanded us to take a more active attitude toward asking, seeking, and knocking. If you have prayed to God, you will have to work hard to make that wish come true. If you prayed for understanding the words of the Bible, you must diligently read and understand the Bible. If you pray for improvement in grades, you must study hard. And you will need to find a way to study effectively. Did you pray for evangelism? If so, you need to go there and do evangelism. If you do that, it means that God will give you.
Prayer without action is dead prayer. If you earnestly ask for it, work hard, and find it, God will grant you a wish. For family reconciliation, if you pray all night at church and get annoyed with your husband or children that you are tired when you get home, how can you achieve family peace? Please believe that God's answers are those who act, pray, pray, and act.
Ⅲ. Believe in a good God
Jesus tells us to trust and ask for the good God who gives us good things. 1 Kings (3:16-28) tells the story of Solomon's wise judgment. There were two prostitutes, each having a child, and one woman laid her child down while she was sleeping. This woman secretly traded for another woman's live child. Another woman woke up and saw that the child was dead, but when she looked closely, it was not hers. Each of them claimed that the living child was his own, and Solomon brought a judgment. Solomon ordered that the living child be divided by the sword. However, the real mother of the child told her to give it to the other woman instead of sharing it in order to save the child, but the fake mother insisted on sharing what she couldn't have anyway. So Solomon found the child to his mother. This case was a case in which we can understand the heart of a mother to give good things to her children, even if humans are evil.
The Lord says “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake? If you are evil and know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him? (Matt 7:9-11) “When their child is hungry and asks for bread, where is the parent who will give him a stone? Where can a parent throw a viper to kill a child when he wants to eat fish? How much more will not God, who is good, give good things to His beloved children? God has already given his one and only begotten Son to save us. What will such a God love for us? I hope that you will save and believe in God who answers with good things.
conclusion
“Beloved, ask whatever you want, and I will give you a good thing,” says the Lord. Those who pray have hope. A praying church has hope. God's work is through prayer. Please pray. Please pray and act. Pray with patience.