knocknockDEV

Matthew 7: Knock! Knock! who’s there?

7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
( The bible saids we have not because we ask not” or could it be that we are asking amiss? asking the wrong person? seeking the wrong things? knocking on the wrong door? you see its not a question of does he want to bless you but will you receive it? with that in mind lets read our next verse)
8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
( ah there we go again just who’s door are you knocking on? has a door been opened unto you and You are not aware of it? or just rebelling and refusing to walk through it? many times we knock and commit ourselves but once the door is open unto us and things are not what we expected we change our mind and look to close doors rather than open them)
9. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Sounds to me like he desires to bless us! even more than we can imagine, “ for unto us are given exceeding great and precious promises “
25. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
ah a Greek? that was bad news for her she wasn’t even considered human but an animal and a dog at that, let alone able to get in on the promises which were first and primarily for the Jews, ah look at the tender mercy of God, but first he tries her faith and desire ever wondered why? could it be had she taken this healing and promise lightly the devil would have been able to come along and rob her of it? maybe she would have lost it just as easy as she got it if it didn’t cost her something? thus she had to first accept her degradation & humiliation hint, hint..)
27. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.   28. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 29. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.   30. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
( hum.. ever wondered what that must have been like? to be possessed by something that you have no power over, to be controlled by some thing that destroys you & those around you & you can do nothing about it, oh you want to be changed & delivered but you seem to be able to do nothing on your behalf because the bondage is so great, so destructive, so manipulative, you know what’s even sadder? to be under the control of devilish forces & not even be aware of it, all the while it is destroying you, your family, your mind and marriage, your job and ministry, your health and home, etc)

Matthew 8: 1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.   2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
( Unlike many who say can you rather than will you! Notice he said if thou will thou can, you see he didn’t question Jesus ability but in an act of faith he stepped out and proclaimed his power! asking will you not can you, a lesson here for us let us ask in faith believing he is able! “ is anything to hard for God”
notice despite his agony and condition he choose to worship rather than complain?)

3. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 9: 20. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21. For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
( The hem of his garment: to the Hebrew this little piece of material at the end of his robe was very significant in that it was called the train and represented power and authority; it was an embroidered section at the hem of his robe and the more elaborate the embroidery the more significant the power and authority of the individual wearing it thus what she was saying was that If I could but acknowledge and show him I recognize him, if I could just touch his power and authority I will be made whole but notice she was willing to acknowledge him publicly and this act could cost her even more persecution and shame)
22. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Reflections and thoughts: Ask... the question is not only what we ask of him? but how we ask of him? do we ask according to his word, to his will, and while I’m asking perhaps I should be listening to what he may be saying, to many times we hinder ourselves from hearing his voice whether it be due to the flesh, friends, the world, or things material, Seek am I seeking his way, his word, his will, how can I be seeking him if I am following after friends, family, the world, or things that are not scriptural, how can I seek him if I am still following after sin and not after the word, prayer or Godly fellowship. Knock.. its a simple matter of opening your heart, looking in the right direction, waiting on him, its expectation, anticipation, time spent in earnest reading and study of the word of God, to knock could be as simple as believing that he is! and asking and letting him into the dark and hidden areas of our hearts, to have his way, to let him have our hurts and brokenness for sometimes it is he who knocks on the door of our heart, whispering my I please come and sup with you my child, I have Roses in my hand for you, dreams in my heart for you, plans on my mind for you, hope for you today! come lets read a story together today, A story of my love and care as expressed in the divine pages of his-story also know as the bible, after all I have 66 love letters here all written just for you)

Now lets look at these Individuals again, who were touched by the grace of God! first we have a woman who’s daughter was possessed by demons oh what a terrible thing to have to endure to be possessed by a power greater than yourself unless that power is God! but for this lowly child this power was a destructive force, I wonder how many times she may have cried out in vain, yea screamed in agony as these powers tormented her, could it be night and day she was under siege, under the influence of demons, under the counsel of the wicked, her sanity had all but been wiped away, her self respect was a thing of the past, her beauty now ravaged and withered away, poor mommy she was just waiting for the bad news that her precious daughter yes her only daughter would now be taken and confined to that dreaded place called the Gaderenes, that no mans island, that demon fortress of hell, where she would be left alone to scavenge for herself oh what a fate! ah but Faith was getting ready to birth freedom and healing her way! For up in the Heavenlys she had gotten someone’s attention, and all it took was a simple knock.. knock. .knock

Then there was the leper, Well he didn’t have it to good either, just imagine what that was like? well for one he couldn’t get to close to anyone and anytime anyone got to close to him actually within 8 feet he had to holler unclean! unclean! so that they would know he was an untouchable, but that’s just the beginning later as the disease progressed he would eventually be sent away and confined to a leper colony, once there his real hell and torment would begin he would have to fight and scavenge for food as it would be lowered thru an opening in a cave known as his tomb, the tomb of lepers, at first he would have a few visitors but as time went on and the disease got worse he would notice that his visitor’s seem to disappear first it was the friends who no longer came, then it was the rest of the family soon it was only his mother who would come and now even her visits seemed shorter, fewer and less frequent and she seemed to stand further away from him unwilling to look into his eyes, as if to say I can’t stand to see this happen to you my son, ah what torment! but this is the life of a leper after all in just another routine leper colony or was it? I believe God was aware of the pain going on here.. “God sent his Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life “ “ by his stripes you are healed “ now who said’s a leper can’t believe? oh but I forgot he’s an unwanted, uncared for, he’s a dirty one, he’s a reject, and an untouchable, not to God he wasn’t!

The woman with the issue of blood: Talk about bad! this was hell personified! 12 long years of hell, can you imagine the things she went thru? perhaps alil background may help, you see for her she was the talk of the town, this so called sickness it was alleged was actually a curse from God, some kind of punishment for some sexual sin , the talk was that she had been involved in some sexually perverted acts and was thus cursed of God! and to make matters worse she had spent all she had on charlatans and quack doctors who took all she had financially but left her none the better physically, then steps Jesus onto this scene he takes none of her money but all her illness, all her grief, all her pain, all her misery, isn’t he something! Isn’t he God! But before Jesus came along she too had to scavenge in the back alley ways and garbage cans for scant leftovers, she had to sleep on the outskirts of town, abandoned buildings or anywhere she could find comfort, her covers from the chill of the night were the tattered and worn clothes she wore, and as for friends and folks she had to avoid them too for their stinging criticism and mockery, their ridicule and sexual innuendos, their lack of compassion and concern, she knew of loneliness and hunger more than others, and rejection ah this was her constant companion.. but she knew one thing Jesus was Lord! he was able! he was the mighty God in Jesus! and all she had to do was reach out and touch! now think about this for a moment, after all this poor woman had been through, all she had suffered, all the prayers she prayed, all the efforts she made to be kind and not a bother to anyone yet it seemed like people still didn’t care, and after all the tears she shed, it seemed like even God wasn’t moved, yet still she reached out in faith! she refuse to be robbed of her hope , her faith, dare I say her health? her healing was a promise she would not be denied not even in the face of adversity and ridicule, not even sickness, nor poverty ( for she may have been poor in finances but she was rich in faith ) and or the threat of death was about to keep her back from her Savior and Daddy! her hero@earth

A PRAYER: My father, my Lord, my God, How great you are! I adore you! Its amazing your kindness and goodness toward us, Thank you Daddy, I love you, but I must admit to you and to my self that I am struggling with my faith, my ability to hold on, I’m sorry for doubting, for questioning, for wondering, it seems I don’t know what to believe anymore? I want so bad to continue to do right! but I’m losing it, please help me, please forgive me, please send me a token for good of your love and intervention, that I may know that ur working on my behalf? and no matter how good it seems I’m doing I pray that you will shower me with mercy and grace daily for I dare not think that I am without sin for I realize that the heart is wicked and deceitful above all things and can deceive me at times, Lord I recognize that I need you, I proclaim my dependence upon you, I thank you Lord that you are caring, kind, and compassionate, that you came to heal and save, to bring freedom and deliverance, for many a times I have found myself in the condition of these individuals, sometimes I too feel like a demon force is trying to control and destroy me, yea almost has, it has done considerable damage to me, my home, my life, my ministry, my job, etc, I thank you my God that you heard my cries from within the dark tomb that ensnared me, the bondage that held me captive to the pleasures of this world never knowing that it was just for a season, yes the damage seems so discouraging! somehow help me please! Then at other times I feel like the leper who has to yell unclean! unclean! no I may not have the actual disease of leprosy but I have been tainted and made unclean by my foolish rebellion and sins, I offer no excuses Daddy, no justification, I confess my faults to you, no I don’t have to yell it out for others to hear for that has already been done by others who know of my uncleanness, but if I had to yell out unclean! unclean! truthfully I’d be to ashamed too, for I am already to embarrassed and ashamed of myself daddy! Oh Lord I thank you for ur promise that I will not be shamed, that your forgiveness cleanses me of shame and condemnation, guilt and punishment, then there are times when I feel like the woman with the issue of blood, please father cleanse me, cover me, accept me, I too have had to endure so much ridicule and accusations, mockery and innuendos , cursed of God they said, and abandoned by God? but show me thy tender love Daddy, thy mercies, thy forgiveness, thy truth, Oh bless it be the Lord ! I WILL PRAISE YOU ALWAYS! even though yes I at times feel so forsaken, so taken advantage of, so neglected, yes the charlatans and quacks in my life have taken from me all, but my pain and misery, they took my faith, my hopes, my dreams and plans and left me with broken dreams and empty hopes, shattered self respect, fear and frustration, in place of compassion they gave me criticism, I too found my comfort and place of rest on the outskirts of peoples lives, my sleep was found in the dark recesses of my heart and home, my nightly covers were fear and hunger, my companion doubt and condemnation but then like you did with this woman you came my way, you gave me hope, gave me my life back, gave me love!   Help me dear daddy to not look the other way when I cross the path of those whom others reject, ridicule, or mock and persecute, remind me that but for the grace of God there go I? HELP ME TO PRAY FOR THE DEMON POSSESSED IN MY WORLD, help me to care! to understand! to love! to go out of my way for the unclean in my mist remind me not to call that which u have cleansed unclean, that which u have forgiven unforgiven, that which u have accepted unacceptable. Thanks my God for calling me to repentance, for allowing me a second chance! now may I give others a second chance.. and to you be the glory! forever and ever AMEN!   p/s It seems I can write of living victorious daddy but its quite another thing to do it? yeah it all sounds good on paper but in my heart and life where I really need it that’s another story? I really feel like its just empty words with no meaning to me, or maybe should I say no reality to me ; by what I see and hear in others.. I want to live it so bad but...somehow I feel I’m drifting apart from you with no control on my part its so frustrating, so discouraging, please help me! don’t let me walk away, don’t let me lose this precious gift! help me !!

by: George R. Nava 2170 E. Market St. Stn, Ca ph -46-59731 My web page: http://gospelstuffs.homestead.com/index.html