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Gospel of Matthew Lsn # 16, 'The Open Door'
We don’t put the cart before the horse and teach biblical truth principles for believers to
everyone we come in contact with, so when we’re working with unbelievers;
we simply give them the Gospel.
And if we’re going to witness for Jesus Christ, then we must make the issue clear and the issue is
the Cross.
So, we are to ask and it’s logical that if we’re in fellowship and understand the doctrine
of prayer, that we’re going to be given what we’re asking for.
The passive voice here indicates that we cannot earn it or deserve it;
no believer ever earns or deserves an answer to prayer; it’s strictly a matter of grace.
Our lives are going to be different now that we’re in Christ where it’s going to be a wonderful
experience no matter how many difficulties we have IF we are constantly seeking His mind.in
the logical progression and that’s when all of a sudden, our answer shouts at us!
So, now we’ve established a pattern because we have two things right; we’re asking and seeking
and we can now go right on with the third thing in the logical progression and that’s when all of
a sudden, our answer shouts at us!
The door will be opened and it’s opened by God alone Who does the work because it’s all grace
and the principle is this: Where God’s agenda is being fulfilled, we’ll have guaranteed results!
God is now our Father and we are in His family and therefore using this process results in a
fantastic thing; God isn’t going to give us a stone, He’s going to open the door with loaves of
bread in His Hands for us so, giving the bread here is opening the door to many fantastic
blessings that are awaiting us!
We are the children in this illustration and as the children of God, sometimes we please Him and
sometimes we disappoint Him and even grieve Him but His attitude toward us never changes and
under these techniques of praying, seeking and knocking, He never deviates.
There’s a tremendous principle here; This is where we all can relax in the grace of God because
He never changes, so His attitude toward us remains constant which means that we cannot
commit a sin that will change His attitude and also, we can’t do something wonderful that will
bring us blessing because it all depends on Him!
We are here on earth because we’re ambassadors and who provides for ambassadors? The nation
they represent and Who provides for us as Jesus Christ’s ambassadors?
The One Who we represent, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!
The so-called Golden Rule is something any unbeliever can practice and what Jesus is calling for
is taking it from the natural to the supernatural and only a Spirit-filled believer can do this
because it requires the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
So, remember that we cannot manipulate God in prayer; we don’t use prayer to hire God to do
what we want done.
Prayer is not designed to coerce God but to conform us to the will of God; it’s not asking for
what we want but for what God wants for us!
The fact that our Lord always makes intercession for us indicates that we have not completely
understood the doctrine of prayer.
One of our great priestly functions is prayer and when we pray for others, we enter into their
ministry.
We fail in prayer because in the malfunction of our spiritual life, we don’t understand the will of
God for our lives; therefore, the importance of prayer being compatible with the plan of God for
the Church is invaluable.
Production skills minus spiritual skills equal the performance of human good dead works in
prayer and so, the key to prayer is the filling of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of biblical
truth and the execution of the experiential plan of God.
