"ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK"

Good Evening to All!

Jesus said "(9) So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (11) If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give her a serpent instead of a fish? (12) Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion (13) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

This passage is misunderstood often. People tend to "skim over most of it except for the part that says "ask and it will be given to you". Then they get aggravated if the answers to their prayers are no, or wait awhile. This passage is referring to the Holy Spirit, which is the BEST GIFT God could ever give to us. After all, God gave up his "earthly body, His life here on earth to be a sacrifice for us. By Him saying "how much more will your heavenly Father give: If people, who are evil (by nature) can give good gifts, imagine the value of God's gift of the Holy Spirit. If anyone does not have the Holy Spirit, that person according to Romans 9:9, does not belong to Christ. In the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is the divine distributor of the good things purchased by Jesus and ordained by the Father.

This is speaking of the "gifts of the Spirit". There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who words all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit (or benefit) of all. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

I like to refer to the Holy Spirit as "God In Action". It is through the Holy Spirit that we are taught the meaning of grace. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are taught HOW to live for God. This precious gift IF we will listen to it and abide by what it is telling our spirit to do, will help us to be successful in our walk with God.

As well as that, it also helps us to discern which of the "gifts" which God has given to us such as the word of wisdom , the word of knowledge, faith, , healings working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Now, before you get too confused, the "gift of tongues" is different than the tongues which is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4.

Knock - and the door to Jesus will be opened to you. Jesus wants us to call upon Him. He stands the the doors of our hearts and knocks but He will not force His way in. He wants to be part of our lives, yet we must accept Him first. Not only that even after we ask Him into our hearts and into our lives, we must show Him that we want Him to stay by living for Him. Doing according to His Word.

Look at it this way. God cannot allow sin in heaven, and God cannot dwell in sin. Therefore when we ask Him to move into our spirit, we have to "clean our spirit up" by repenting which means turning away from it and not doing it again. Saying "I'm sorry", is just not good enough. We must cleanse our spirit in this way of sin and be baptized which is God's command to "wash away our sins". This is not optional for salvation. It was a command from God for Salvation as well as abiding by His Word.

Seek- We need to seek Him daily. Pray. Talk to Him. Read His Word. Love Him. Do no less for Him than you do your earthly family. He is your creator, He deserves your love and respect. I wonder how our spouse and children would feel if we only allotted them a couple of hours twice a week for attention. I doubt if that would go over too well. Why should we do that to God when He deserves as much or more attention? Not only that, if we are good examples and include our earthly families into our search for God's Truth and His face, then our families will be that much better for it. It will teach our children good habits, and strengthen our marriages if we include God in everything we do.

I know this is not the "popular" or "well-liked way of looking at the truth, but I feel the need to be completely honest about this because there are "so many "watered down versions" that want us to believe we can do anything we want and because God loves us we will go to heaven no matter what. If that were the case, He would not have said ,"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in by it. (Matthew 7:12-14).

Good Night to All and May God Bless!