Written by Pastor Shannon Foote
“Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7
In this message, I will
define these terms in the following manner: “Ask” is for gifts from God. “Seek”
is for opportunity by God. “Knock” is for growth in God.
According to this verse, knocking
is required to walk through the closed doors that may come in the path on which
our opportunity is revealed. When we seek for that opportunity, the question we
are longing to answer is: “God is this the way that you want me to go?” Funny
thing, the laws of physics will not allow you to knock on doors you cannot reach.
You see, you have to follow the path that God has determined for you in order
to reach that door. If I enter a large room containing several exit doors, I may
be able see that the doors are closed doors, but I cannot knock on them from
across the room. In life, there will be times when we have several doors in
front of us; there may be more than one door that would lead to the right
destination. Some of those doors will open to paths with will be more difficult
than necessary. This reinforces the importance of doing all three; ask, seek,
and knock. Now, if I were to stand across the room, I would not be able to
knock any of those doors. All too often we will convince ourselves that if we
were to put forth the effort to reach the door, it would not open anyway;
thereby, eliminating any opportunity for growth. God did not say look for
closed doors. He said, “Knock and it shall be opened.”
In the sixteenth chapter of
book of Acts we find the Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey with
a man named Silas and two younger men named Luke and Timothy. They are in the
region known as Macedonia in one of its larger cities, Philippi. A new church
is about to be established, but it will require Paul and his team to “Ask,
seek, and knock.”
Acts 16:13-14 And on the sabbath we went out of the city
by a river side, where prayer was
wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted
thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of
Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she
attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
“Ask”
There was a gathering of
people where “Prayer was wont to be made.” (Acts 16:13) Those four men on a
mission to plant a church attended this prayer meeting to ask God for a
specific gift: a place for lodging and supplies for sustenance nearby the city
to allow them to remain in close proximity while they established a church in
the city of Philippi. The meeting place of the prayer meeting being “by a
riverside” does not offer much insight to establish the size of group it was
simply a common place for a gathering for folks to go and to pray. The prayer
was heard by God and at least one other person, Lydia. “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of
Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she
attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. It seems to me, when she
heard them asking God, He worked in her heart to offer a generous gift in
answer to their prayer. Lydia, a seller of purple, (probably a wealthier
person) is now ministering to the Apostle Paul and his men. Our God is
absolutely amazing! When asked - God
didn't just give them a cave and a stone, offering basic accommodations; NO! He
made reservations at the best bed and breakfast in Philippi. So, when they went
where “Prayer was wont to be made” they made their request known to God, and
God provided them with a wonderful gift.
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