February 9, 2016

PPIL
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV (2nd Day) - "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Commentary:

Yes, I'm staying with this POWERFUL PASSAGE IMPACTING LIFE a second day!!  And the reason why comes from a reading of Judges 1:13-15, NKJV - "And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.  Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field.  And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, 'What do you want?'  So she said to him, 'Give me a blessing; since you have given me the South, give me also springs of water.'  And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs."

You can easily ask, "What in the world does that have to do with Hebrews 4:16?! 

How about this thought:  Achsah was the daughter of the famous Caleb.  Remember how Caleb and Joshua were the only two men out of the twelve that had spied out the land of Canaan as recorded in Numbers 13, 14, who came to the people of Israel and basically said, "YES, we can go in and conquer the land!"  Because of their faith, God kept them alive through the wandering in the wilderness so they both could indeed go into the Promised Land.  Caleb was a hero, but he was also bold!  He wasn't going to settle for a life in the wilderness!  He wanted more!  His daughter, Achsah, was well aware of her father's nature.  And when Othniel married Achsah she immediately encouraged her new husband to be bold in going to her father and asking for more than was originally given to them for an inheritance.  And when Caleb spoke to her and asked, "What do you want?" she cried out, "Give me a blessing!"

Note these points:  Achsah knew her father's nature!  Jesus knows His Father's nature!  As Achsah knew her father could be boldly approached by his son-in-law, Othniel, so Jesus knows His Father can be boldly approached by His children.  Achsah encouraged her husband to basically "ASK FOR MORE!"  And to show that to her husband, she was given the chance to respond to her father's question, "What do you want?" by being bold enough to say, "I want a blessing!"  She knew her father's nature was generous and she wasn't ashamed to ASK FOR MORE! 

I believe our Savior is telling us in Hebrews 4:16 to not only come boldly and confidently into our Father's presence, but also to come boldly "asking for more!"  No, of course I'm not saying that we can be selfish and ask God for all kinds of stuff we don't need, but how about being like Achsah and like Jacob in Genesis 32:26, where he said to the Lord, "I won't let You go until you bless me!"  Both Achsah and Jacob knew their respective "Fathers" had a nature to bless their own children!

Christian, we "have not because we ask not," James 4:2.  I believe God is not only looking for His children to just come to Him in prayer, but He is looking for us to be bold enough to ask Him for His blessing on our lives in ways that will help us serve Him all the more effectively!  So many great preachers down through the years have challenged their congregations to "attempt great things for God and expect great things from God."  God is not a God we have to conquer His reluctance.  He is a God who wants us to lay hold of His willingness! 

I'll stop with this thought: Jesus is telling you to "Go ahead, ask for more!"  If your motives are correct, let your requests be great!  God will give!