Our text
today comes from John 15: 7 "If you live in Me [abide vitally united to
Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask
whatever you want, and it shall be done for you."
let us pray
O King of
Heaven, hear our prayer today and grant us hearts full of wisdom that are
committed to You. Help us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You
this day. Amen.
I have been
thinking about this passage a lot. Mostly because it doesn't seem to work. We
ask for things – the healing of a friend, restoration of relationships, safety,
peace – and they don't come about. Sometimes people say that our faith is weak
and that is why we don't get what we want. That we are not asking in accordance
with God's will. That our prayers are blocked by our own sin. That God has
given us the answer of No. I think there is more to it than that.
Instead of
thinking about God, who is unseen, let us consider someone who is seen. A
powerful person. Think of President Obama, perhaps, or Bill Gates. If one of
these men were to call you up and say "ask whatever you want, and it shall
be done for you." That is a
far-fetched scenario! Why would either of these people offer this to you?
Why, indeed.
What would
motivate either of them to call you? They owe you a favor? You are related to
one of them? You are a close personal friend?
I recently
read a book called "Lottery" by Patricia Wood about a young man with
a low IQ who wins $13 million in the lottery. Suddenly, his family members, who
had previously mistreated and ignored him, were constantly calling and asking
him for money. How can you know who your friends are when you are rich and
powerful? Perry, the lottery winner,
desired to be generous, but he had to navigate requests from many many
directions.
This offer
has been given before in the Bible. In 2
Chronicles Chapter 1, we read: "God appeared to Solomon and said to him,
“Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”" Same offer. Solomon responds "Give me wisdom and
knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great
people of yours?" And God responds with “Since this is
your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor,
nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life
but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you
king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I
will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was
before you ever had and none after you will have.” Sound familiar? Sounds a lot
like Matthew 6:33 to me: "But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
In order to see why God was pleased with Solomon's request, it is noteworthy
to see the types of things that God was glad Solomon didn't ask for: wealth, possessions, honor, the death of his
enemies, and long life. God is delighted to grant Solomon's request because his
request not only benefitted himself but also brought honor and glory to the
Giver.
We also see this offer in Esther 5: On the third day Esther put on her
royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s
hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the
entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with
her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther
approached and touched the tip of the scepter. Then the king asked, “What is
it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be
given you.” It was no small thing to approach the throne of the king uninvited.
As far as she knew, there was only one rule and that was if you go to the king
without being summoned he will either extend his scepter to you or kill you. He
had already gotten rid of one queen, what was to say he would have favor on
her? She was terrified to do this and had all the Jews fast for three days and
nights to garner up the courage to approach him. Esther asks to throw him a
party – smart thinking! She asks him for something that will benefit him.
Let's look at one more instance where we see this offer given in the
Bible. This time, we are in Mark 6: "Herod gave a party for his high
government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. Then
his daughter came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his
guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will
give it to you.” He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half
my kingdom!”" In this case, the
girl consults with her mother and asks for the head of John the Baptist.
"Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows
he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. So he immediately
sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him.
The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a tray, and gave
it to the girl, who took it to her mother." What she requested did not
bring honor or glory to Herod. He deeply regretted his offer.
I was talking over this passage with Asa while preparing for this sermon
and I asked him, "Who gets to say that: ask whatever you want and I will
give it to you?" and he said "me!" and I said, "oh really,
and what do you back that up with?" and he said,
"disappointment." But our hope is in a God who is faithful to His
Word. and this hope does not disappoint.
and yet. we find ourselves disappointed.
Disappointment is, according to the dictionary, "the feeling of sadness or displeasure
caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations." I have found
in my life, in my marriage, in my friendships, in my community, that simply
changing my expectations can keep disappointment at bay. When situations don't
fit my expectations, I still have to trust that God is with me. 2 Corinthians
10 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ."
If I want to
keep from being disappointed by God, I need to keep my expectations in line
with His promises. In I John 3, we have
this encouragement: "Dear friends, we are already God’s
children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears.
But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
And all who
have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is
pure." In Romans 5 it says "…this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us
the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."
Last fall, after a spate of bad news: sick relatives, sick friends,
friends moving away, I met with my spiritual director. I was trying to hear
from God, but felt like there was only silence. In my frustration I said to
God, "Why can't I hear from You?" and I felt like He was saying,
"because you have already decided what you want me to say." So I
tried to give up my expectations. And listen. The next thing I knew, I felt
like I was walking down a beach with Jesus. It was super peaceful and
comforting. I looked at Him. He was beaten and bloody and pieced together –
like something from a horror film- Jesus from the cross. He said to me,
"what do you want?" In that moment, I realized that I already had
everything I want or need. His sacrifice is all I really truly need. How could
I possibly ask this suffering man for anything else?
When I told my spiritual director about this, she asked me about my
children, "What do you want for them?" I answered, "really all I want for them
is to know God. and to somehow see the circumstances of their lives as ways
that He is trying to get through to them, opportunities for joy." She went
on to ask me, "what would you do if they asked you for something?" "I
would give it to them if I could. if I thought it would be good for them."
She then reminded me, "Jesus is asking you what you want. He wants
to know. What do you want?" so I said "really all I want is to know
God. and to somehow see the circumstances of my life as ways that He is trying
to get through to me, opportunities for joy."
Who gets to say that: "ask whatever you want and I will give it to you?"
Only a king. We serve a King. That word has almost no meaning to us anymore:
burger king, prom king, king of the road, king crab, king-size, "king
me", taco and burrito king, king of pop. The dictionary definition is
"sovereign or monarch who holds by life tenure, and usually by hereditary
right, the chief authority over a country and people." When we decide to
follow Jesus, we join an absolute monarchy. The triune God is the only person
in charge and we surrender our rights to Him.
We should tremble to enter His court. But Jesus is so gracious! In Hebrews 4, we read "we have a great
High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God. This
High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way
that we are, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the
throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find
grace to help us when we need it most." and in Romans 8 "God did not
keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely
give us everything else?" Psalm 100 shows us how to enter His court: "Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He
made us, and we are his. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts
with praise."
In the book of James, we find this path to fulfilment: "when
troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to
grow. So let it grow, for when your
endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing
nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to
you."
Perry, the lottery winner with the low IQ, adopts a philosophy in his
generosity: “Everyone should get what
they want.” And he learns that no matter how much he gives to his grabby,
inconsiderate relatives, they will never have what they want. And he also
learns that because he is surrounded by and motivated by love, he has always
had everything he has ever wanted, even without the winnings.
so what do we really want? not wealth. not honor. not possessions. not
the death of an enemy. not long life. Really, all we want is to know God. and
to have the wisdom to see the circumstances of our lives as ways that He is
trying to get through to us, opportunities for joy.
let us pray.
benediction: Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There
we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it
most.
