Sermons of Jesus – Characteristics of the Kingdom of Heaven (3)
Just a short one today… but I felt a much needed reminder…
Bible Passage: Matthew 7
The passage that caught my eye today was this:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
~ Matthew 7:7-8
Now this is a most familiar passage to us. But what does it tell me about the kingdom of God?
Have you taken note of the prayer list recently? I am not sure about you but I think I counted around 10 names that are read in TK every service. And there are other names that are not read but are flashed on the wall.
So many names.
So many sicknesses.
So many people who need our prayers.
Some of these people are close to us. Some are just names.
How do we pray for them? Do we even remember them in our prayers outside of service times?
Very often, I will admit, I will forget the names of those who require my prayers.
I do nothing.
When I see their names or receive an email or SMS to pray for a certain person, I commit in my heart to pray for them. But then, very often, I may remember it initially and then very often forget about it. And then I am reminded again and the whole cycle starts again.
Reading the key verses above reminded me that as members of this Kingdom of Heaven, we need to strive to be the type of people that when we say we’re going to pray for someone or a situation, we really do.
We need to believe that by asking, knocking and seeking… God will be found and will answer our prayers. Especially when we pray for those who are in great need.
Paul urged Timothy…
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,”
~ 1 Tim 2:1 (ESV)
And when we do not know how to pray and what to pray for those who are in need, we have this promise of the Holy Spirit…
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
~ Rom 8:26 (ESV)
Now, I know I am not Paul or am in anyway comparable to him, but I would like to use his words as a request for myself and also a call for unity in prayers…
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”
~ Rom 15:30
The Kingdom of God should consists of brothers and sisters praying for one another in the love of Jesus…. so that whatever we ask in His name, He will do it (John 14:14) according to His marvellous will and grace.
May the Lord have mercy on us.
One Comment
isfp
Wow, quite a number of fave verse today in matt 7.
1)Verse 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” – sometimes i wonder is this verse used too often to defend oneself? Say, if i did something wrong, some brethren came to correct me. And in my defensive mode, i would use this verse to rebuke them. Anyway, if we first inspect ourselves and correct ourselves, then we wouldn’t have the problem of getting corrected by others.;)
2) Verse 7 Ask, Seek, Knock. I always wonder… Does God grant all your pursuit in life?.. this verse is often used in spiritual pursuit (i.e seeking God). But how about our physical needs? lets say, your career, relationship, healing, deliverance from sickness etc… I hope some deacon/preacher would kindly advise me. Thanks.
3) Verse 24 “…hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…” How long have we hear the word of God? 1 yr, 3 yrs, over 20 years? Yes, we may have heard or even wearily of listening to the same sermons over and over again. But, have we put what we hear into practise. Eg. Do we still bear grudges? any anger? etc…