Lesson Sixty: Our Need Supplied
60.1 Although we are not to be judging others, we are to be judging ourselves - as needy. We need God like a fish needs water! Without God we have nothing and are nothing. His grace makes us what we are - saved. His Spirit makes us what we will be - sanctified. His gifts make our lives - possible. Without Him we can do - nothing. So Jesus made a huge point of saying...
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Mathew 7:7
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Be asking, and it will be given to you; be seeking, and you will find, be knocking and it will be opened to you.60.2 The word "father" continues to ring through these verses like a bell - with peals of love. This is a picture of a child coming to his father. Repeated asking is insistent asking, as a child will do. Seeking is more fervent still, and knocking is desperate - like somebody pounding on the door at midnight. Such asking, seeking, and knocking is done by a child in need - in recognition of his need (our need is great). This is not at all a reflection on the father's willingness to give. Our Heavenly Father will give to His children.
60.3 The promise is so great that Jesus repeats it, making sure that we understand it is for everyone.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:8
60.4 Although we judge ourselves to be so needy, we must always remember that our Father responds on the basis of our asking - not on the basis of our worthiness. This is grace - pure and simple. This Father is generous and cannot resist His children! A wise child would ask big.
60.5 Jesus went to great lengths to help us understand the goodness of our Father in heaven...
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? Matthew 7:9-10
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! Matthew 7:11
60.6 The good things named are the Holy Spirit, as Luke explains in his version (Luke 9-13)...
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! Luke 11:13
60.7 Jesus wanted us to see our desperate need of the Holy Spirit - and our Father's abundant willingness to give - generously - the same. We cannot live a day in the world of men without the Holy Spirit. He leads us into all truth, convicts us, comforts us, guides us, and gifts us. The fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control - come from Him. He is the agent of God's grace.
60.8 Since every Christian is a minister of God's grace, it is important for every Christian to know the source. God is our source! - not just a resource - in times of trouble. He is our source all day long - every day. We go immediately to Him. He gives us His Holy Spirit. God our Father knows our desperate need and is just waiting to answer abundantly!
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