Weekend Sermon

     I'm sorry I was delayed by one day in posting the Weekend Sermon.  I have not been feeling well the last couple of days.  I was mowing the lawn on Thursday, and I got too hot and almost passed out.  I am feeling better now.
     I hope that everyone has a very good week.  I would like to ask everyone to pray for those who were hurt by the tornadoes in Texas this past week.  Living here in the Midwest, I always dread tornado season.  We are supposed to have a bad severe weather outbreak here on Sunday night and maybe Monday.  I am praying that the whole thing fizzles out.
     In last week's message, we finished our discussion about what Jesus meant and what He did not mean when He said, "Judge not, that you be not judged."  We then moved on to focus briefly on perseverance in the Christian faith.  We need to keep going for Jesus even in the hardship of life.  Jesus is with us and will help us on our journey of life and faith if we put all of our faith and trust in Him.
     Now, let us continue with the words Jesus set out in Matthew 7:7 when He said, "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." 
     In this verse, Jesus is encouraging His followers to be people of prayer.  Prayer is a vital element in our walk with the Lord Jesus.  It s the way we communicate with the Lord and it is one of the ways Jesus uses to communicate with us. 
     Jesus is also telling us in this verse that we should always pray and not lose heart when things don't look like they are going our way.
     I wrote several sermons on Jesus' teachings on prayer a few months ago.  If anyone wants to know about his subject in more detail, you can look up the blog titles with Jesus teachings on prayer in them.  I think that I did six or seven messages on this subject.
     One of the messages concerned the idea of perseverance in prayer based on Matthew 18.  We should keep praying and asking the Lord to help us and intervene on our behalf even if all seems lost.
     I really know in my heart what Jesus is speaking about here.  I've prayed for a long time for the Lord to help me out of my financial difficulties.  Right now, things are looking about as bleak as they ever have.  However, I am not giving up.  I am going to keep praying for deliverance because I know that Jesus loves me.  Our Father in Heaven want to give good things to us.
     Jesus speaks about this in Matthew 7: 8-11.  Jesus points out that when a son asks his father for a piece of bread, the father doesn't give the kid a stone.  If the child asks for a fish to eat , the father doesn't give the child a snake.  As Jesus says in verse 11, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?"
     God our Father is better than mere mortals.  If we give good things to our children who ask us, how much more will the Father in Heaven respond when we ask Him for good things.
     I am believing in good things from the Lord.  I want to keep believing and not give up.  And that is what I am going to do in the coming days.  I know that as I've said, God's ways aren't our ways.  Sometimes, the answers to or prayers won't come until we are with the Lord.  That is the ultimate gift the Father can give to us His children.  Nevertheless, whatever God's will is for my life, I must continue to pray, ask and believe, always try to do my best to serve Jesus, live a holy life and spread the message of Jesus' love.
     If you are facing a problem in your life, do not give up.  Keep believing in the Lord.  Keep putting your faith in His supreme goodness to work out everything in your life according to his gracious will.
     I've mentioned this before, but on the occasion of this teaching it is appropriate to mention again.  I've seen some real answers to prayer that were a long time coming.
     When I was about thirty-two years old, I developed a skin condition called vitiligo.  Nothing that the doctors did helped whatsoever.  I prayed for 18 months asking the Lord to heal me.  Nothing happened for the longest time.  I kept praying, and about six months later, I was completely healed.
     When Toby was with me, he had a very bad chronic skin problem caused by the medicine he had to take everyday for his colon.  I prayed for three years before God healed Toby.  After the Lord healed him, Toby never had this problem again.
     In a church I used to speak at, we often prayed for peace in war torn places in the world.  For some places, it took years of praying for peace to come.
     What I am trying to say is keep praying, and don't give up.  The answer to your need in life may be just around the corner.  Just remember that everything that is good comes from on loving Heavenly Father who gave His Son the Lord Jesus to die for us, rise again for us, and one day Jesus will come again for us.
     Next week, Lord willing, we will focus on the golden rule.  I will post another chapter of the book about Toby on Wednesday.  May God bless you .  Amen.