Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:10

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
Matthew 7:7

Nearly 60% of all marriages fail.  The number one reason for these failures is money problems.  Let's face it, we live in a material world.  We want what we want when we want it.  This attitude can lead to spending outside our means, which can in turn result in conflict with your spouse.  I truly believe that money is one of Satan's most effective tools against Christians.  Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

As believers in Christ, we are considered His bride, the Church.  Just as with earthly marriages, our heavenly marriage has a big issue with money.  We call this "money", tithes and offerings.  People tend to stay away from Church or despise Christians because either (1) they view them as hypocrites or (2) they see churches as money grubbers.  Money, money, money, oh what trouble it can cause.  Before we get into the Scripture tonight, let's define "tithes and offerings."

Merriam Webster defines tithe as "to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church."  Tithe in the Old English is teogopa or tenth.  In the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, tithe is used 37 times (only five times in the New Testament).  The Hebrew word for "tithe" is maaser which means a tenth part.  The Greek word is apodekatoo, take off (deduct) a tenth part (of my property) (and give it away).

Merriam Webster defines offering as "something offered; especially a sacrifice ceremonially offered as part of worship."  Offering is the noun form of the verb, offer, which from the Old English, ofrian, to bring an oblation, religious gift.  It also has roots in the Latin word, offerre, bring before in worship.  In the NKJV of the Bible, offering is used 710 times (only 17 times in the New Testament). The Hebrew word is terumah which means a contribution, offering (for sacred uses).  The Greek word is prosphora, that which is offered, a gift, a present.

Typically, the Church defines a tithe as the minimum requirement of a believer.  The offering is what a believer gives above the tithe.  Looking into the Hebrew for tithe, the minimum is a tenth part of something.  In our case, a tenth of our money.  The offering is the gift given above this requirement.

Using the F.L.O.C.K. acrostic, we will pray for the "O", offering, for the Church, but why is an offering important beyond just paying the pastors salaries, maintenance on the church facilities, and helping the poor and needy?  Let's examine Malachi 3:10.

The book of Malachi was written before the 400 years of silence from God's prophets.  The silence was broken by the forerunner to Christ, John the Baptist. It is unknown if the author's name was Malachi or if it was the author's title.  Malachi means messenger in Hebrew. The time that the book was written was when Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem for the second time.  After repairing the city  walls, he went back to Babylon to serve the Persian king.  During the time the walls were being repaired, the Isrealites obeyed God. However, Isreal had rebeled against God while Nehemiah was away. They didn't tithe, married foreign women, ignored the Sabbath, and the priests had become consumed with worldly things.

Malachi delivered his message when the people of Israel were indifferent toward God.  The Isrealites doubted God’s love and failed to respond to it. Their apathy was demonstrated by their lack of giving.  In verse 10, God calls His people to fetch the entire tenth of their provision into His treasury so there will be food in His temple, so He can bless them beyond measure.  Asking for the tithe is about more than worldly wealth.  God does not need our money, but desires our obedience.  Holding back this money, the Isealites were disobeying God's command.  Therefore, they missed out in God's blessing.  BE OBEDIENT.

Let's turn to Phillipians 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." In writing to the church at Phillipi, Paul thanks them for their giving to his ministry.  Paul encourages them by saying that God shall pléroó (same root word as plethera) or amply supply your need according to His ploútos, much in number, quantity, abundance of possessions of many riches in infinite, intrinsic worth, glorious splendor having weight, value in the realm (sphere) of Christ Jesus. God will reward them for their generosity, not simply giving them back what they’ve given, but blessing them based on the abundant riches of Christ. Generosity enables us to trust the Lord for our needs, instead of selfishly holding onto our money and trusting that it will meet our needs. BE GENEROUS.

In Matthew 7:7, we turn to listen to Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."  In this portion, Jesus tells us to continually, with every breath ask (petition, make or present a formal request to an authority with respect) God, and it (what you have asked for as part of God's plan) will be given (granted, offered) to you; continually, with every breath seek (inquire, investigate until found), and you will find (what you seek); continually knock, with every breath (request admittance), and it (admittance to God) will be opened to you.  God cares for us, but this is not a calling for luxurious, opulent living for every desire of the heart.  God will provide what we need as part of His plan, to advance His kingdom.  Jesus is inviting us to trust our heavenly Father to look after us.

In John 15:16, Jesus says "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."  1 John 5:14 - 15 , "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." HAVE FAITH.

Having faith in God for your needs is demonstrated by your obedient generosity to His work.  How much you give is related to how much faith and obedience you have.  Do not give out of guilt or a prosperity gospel.  Give because of what has been given to you.  Christ died for your sins.  He took our penalty, because the judgement for sin is death and eternal separation from God.  All He asks is that we believe in Him, that we repent-turn away from our sin, and obey His commandments.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

God doesn't need your money.  Don't be upset how it is spent. That is not your job.  Demonstrate your faith and obey, so His kingdom will be advanced.  "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

What do you mean "I'm lost?"

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “ All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20

We as Christians often throw around the word, "lost." To the unbeliever, our usage of the word escapes them. They don't understand that we are talking about them, people who don't know God.  In worldly terms, "lost" is defined as someone who is unable to find one's way, someone who does not know their whereabouts, or someone who is unable to be found. It can also be defined as something no longer retained or possessed.  So to the world, they know who they are and where they are so they think it ludicrous to be called "lost."

Since we are discussing people who don't believe in Jesus, let's look for "lost" in the new testament. The word is used sixteen times in the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible.  Except for one occurrence where lost is mórainó (I make foolish, make useless), the Greek word used is apollumi.   This Greek word for "lost" is defined as destroyed, lost, perished.  To further explain the meaning, apollumi is properly, fully destroyed, cut off entirely, violently and completely perished.  It implies permanent and absolute destruction or cause to be lost (utterly perish) by experiencing a miserable end.  Let's look at two verses that use apollumi to bring better understanding. 

For the Son of man came to save [from the penalty of eternal death] that which was lost. 
Amplified Bible Matthew 18:11

"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
New King James Version Luke 19:10

In Matthew, Jesus is discussing that we must have the faith of a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He also stresses that if anyone causes a child to stumble spiritually that there will be dire ramifications.  Finally, we come to verse eleven where Jesus summarizes and begins the parable of the "99 sheep."  Jesus tells us that He has come to save from the penalty of eternal death (separation from God) that which was apollumi, to be destroyed, perished, lost by experiencing a miserable end (hell).

In Luke when talking about how salvation has come to the house of Zacchaeus (tax collector, sinner), Jesus again summarizes that He has come to seek and to save from the penalty of eternal death that which was apollumi.  This Greek word for "lost" is more than the worldly definition of someone who doesn't know their way.  The word has spiritual meaning.  Apollumi paints a picture of certain miserable destruction and an eternity separated from God.  In a sense, a person is unable to know the way home and is doomed.

As we pray the F.L.O.C.K. acrostic, it is very important to understand who we are praying for when we come to "L" or "lost.". The basis of this prayer for the lost is in the two main passages tonight. These are Jesus' instructions to the believer.  Through the study of these Scriptures, we will see that our instructions (mission) are very simple but can be very intimidating.  Let's dig deeper into Acts.

Before returning to heaven, Jesus tells the disciples that they will soon receive "power" to help them.  The Greek word is dunamis which is physical power, force, might.  It is the source of the English word, dynamite.  Dunamis describes a believer who is able to do powerful deeds and marvelous works by applying the Lord's inherent abilities.  But how can we as sinners receive the power through God's ability?  When God's holy, sacred, breath of life, the Holy Spirit, "has come upon you" (dwells in you).

Only through the dynamite of the Holy Spirit can we as believers fulfill Jesus' instruction to be "witnesses" of Him.  The Greek word here is martus or an eye- or ear-witness who after His (Christ's) example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Him by their belief and obedience to His instruction.  Believers are to tell everyone about Jesus to the eschatos, remotest part of the ghay, the earth or the area we live which God uses to prepare us for eternity.  RULE ONE: Tell the story.

In tonight's verse from Matthew, Jesus first establishes where He gets His authority or in the Greek, exousia. His power, moral authority, influence, conferred power, delegated empowerment comes from God.  With that exousia, Jesus directs us to journey the world to all the nations. The translated word here for nations is ethnos which is race, people, the nations, heathen world, Gentiles.  As believers, we are travel throughout the heathen, unbelieving world making disciples.  More specifically, mathéteuó, we are to help someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing learner, a true Christ-follower.  We are to train the new believer in the truths of Scripture and the lifestyle required, helping a believer learn to be a disciple of Christ in belief and practice.  RULE TWO: Teach the life. 

Pray authentically, personally, from the heart for the people in this world who are headed for a certain miserable destruction and an eternity separated from God (THE LOST). Pray that the lost will have open ears and hearts to hear the Gospel of Jesus.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict us to proclaim the Gospel to the lost.  We are all sinners.  There is no one perfect.  The result of our sinful, imperfect lives is death and separation from Christ.  But the gift of God is Christ, His death, and His resurrection.  By simply believing that Jesus died for our sins yesterday, today and tomorrow, we can be saved and live eternally with God.  Pray the Holy Spirit will convict the lost of their need for a savior, our savior Jesus.  In the end, we do not save.  Our job is to Tell the story and for the lost who repent and believe - Teach the life.

White for harvest

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

John 4:31-35

The first part of the F.L.O.C.K. prayer acrostic is “Families.”  Family is defined as a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.  A key word in this definition is “social” or pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations.  The word originates from the Latin familia, “members of a household.”  In the Greek, family is patria which is lineage, ancestry.  Family is the essential building block of civilization.  Through this friendly companionship with our lineage, society grows in numbers and teaches new members (children) how to live and behave.  How do families tie into our verse tonight?

Let’s examine the context of these verses.  Just before this passage, Jesus has a conversation with a Samaritan woman.  Jesus tells her of “the gift of God.”  In the Greek, the gift is dorea which is free gift, gift not requiring repayment.  Expounding on the definition further, dorea is a gift, freely given and hence not acquired by merit or "entitlement."  Jesus ties the gift of God with living water, water that bestows life not deadness.  As she tries to understand what Jesus is saying, the Samaritan woman doesn’t understand the symbolism yet.  She still thinks of literal water.  Jesus nudges her along expounding her understanding gently revealing her sin.  As with most people when confronted by Jesus, she is transformed and believes that He is the Christ.  When the disciples rejoin Him, Jesus is still in the glow of seeing the Samaritan woman believe.  He cares not for food but for the lost.  “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

The three main feast days of Israel are associated with a harvest.  The barley ripens around Passover.  Wheat ripens around Pentecost. Grapes ripen last in the fall around the time of Tabernacles.  The harvesting of grain in biblical times was not a one to two day chore as it is today.  In ancient times, they couldn’t wait for the grain to fully ripe and become golden brown.  They would begin the harvest before then so the grain would not fall out of the husk while it was being cut. Even though it was harvested earlier, the grain would ripen on its own.  Determining when to harvest was crucial, since cutting it too early would result in immature grain and cutting it too late would mean losing some or all of the harvest.

Christ provides a clue as to when it was the best time to cut the grain, “white for harvest!"  White is the transition color between the green of immature grain and the golden brown of fully ripe grain. At this stage, a reaper, using a very sharp sickle, would harvest the grain.  In a sentence parable, Jesus is telling the disciples of the readiness and abundance of God’s spiritual crop for harvesting.  This is demonstrated by the “many” people who believed based on the Samaritan woman’s testimony.  They have all joined the family of Christ.

God uses families to spread the Gospel.  We want families to join our ministry to first believe, then become disciples learning the Word, serve the family of Christ, and evangelize the lost.  So, for every family in my community, I pray that they will come to church to hear the Gospel so the Holy Spirit can convict them of their need for a Savior.  I pray that families will continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Christ.  I pray that families will serve in the ministry and in the community to show the love of Christ.  These prayers are not for my church to grow numerically, but to reach the lost and teach the believer.  The more families God has helping with the harvest, the more people who will believe.

A beautiful picture of the Gospel being spread to families is the story of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:25-34.

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.