What do you want?

What do you want … really?

Matthew 20:29-34

What do you want … I mean really? If you could have anything in the world, what is it that you would really like? It’s kind of funny to ask this question to people. Aly and I went out with a video camera this week and asked several people this question. Their responses were quite interesting. But today it’s your turn. Tell me what you want … really!

There are many stories of WANT in the Bible. The people of Israel wanted freedom from slavery … then they wanted water to drink … then bread and meat to eat. They wanted a place to call home and a king to rule over them and peace with their neighbours. And what’s wrong with these requests? Nothing. That’s what I love about them … honest people just like us who need things just like us. One of my favourite stories is about a blind man who sat by the side of the road that led to Jericho. His name was Bartimaeus.

He was a man of incredible need … and wants. Even more, he was a man of faith. He understood what James said in 4:2 … “you do not have because you do not ask God.”

Asking is an act of faith!

So here I go again … WHAT DO YOU WANT? REALLY!

A few months ago, we realized that we needed a tractor to cut the grass here at BAC. We could not see how we were going to afford one … not even a used one. So we prayed in an elders meeting about it. That afternoon, I asked a friend who owned a rental store if we could have one of his tractors … and he gave it to us. We prayed, we asked and God provided. Pretty cool eh!

<< Let’s read Matthew 20:29-34 >>

This story teaches us three incredible principles about asking. So let’s pray … in faith this morning … asking God to teach us something this morning … and ask Him to teach us how to ask!

PRINCIPLE # 1: Ask immediately

Too often prayer is anything but our first option. We rely on ourselves or on a friend … perhaps even on the bank.

But if we really believe in God and in His ability to help … why don’t we call on Him first?
I came up with 7 reasons why we sometimes don’t go to God with our needs and requests:

As much as what we want is important to us, we don’t think it means much to God
We think we might be being selfish when we ask
We don’t think God works that way (maybe He used to heal with just a touch but maybe not today)
We think that God wants us to suffer a bit
We have a plan to work things out … we know how to get what it is that we need
We think that God doesn’t want us to have Good things
We think that God is too busy helping other people who are really in need
We’re so busy that we don’t make the time to ask
We feel intimidated by our need
We forget that He loves us

I think that if I really believed that God could and would do something about my need then He would be on the top of our list every time. The problem is … perhaps we don’t believe.

The story that we just read about the healing of the blind beggars teaches us to call on Jesus immediately and to continuously call on Him when we are in need. Matthew 7:7 says this …

PRINCIPLE # 2: Ask defiantly

Look back at Matthew 20:31. The blind beggars were despised in the community. People used to look down on them and laugh at them. Some probably even teased and played games with them. They were ridiculed and insulted … some probably even told them that they would have been better off dead.

In spite of pain … in spite of ridicule … in spite of what everyone else thought of them, they cried out to Jesus all the louder when they though Jesus might pass them by. And by crying out, they risked the mockery of the crowd and demonstrated incredible faith
Have you ever had someone criticize you about a faith decision you are about to make? Have you ever heard someone say you’re making a fool of yourself because you’re taking a stand about having your kids with you in Church on Sunday instead of playing in the sports game or participating in that recital?

LISTEN CLOSELY … if you want to experience the power of God in your life … the power of answered prayer by faith, you will have to defy the critics and sceptics and ask God for what you want anyway

Ask … ask … ask … and if God has not said, “No”, then ask again!

James 5:16 says the prayer of a righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE

PRINCIPAL # 3: Ask specifically

Look at Matthew 20:32-34. The beggars knew exactly what they wanted … no second thought … “Lord, we want our sight.”

How can a Father give his children something they do not ask for? Perhaps he can because he might know the things his children need

And God knows what we need right? So why do we ask?
Because we demonstrate faith by asking specifically!

God will not answer a prayer that we are not willing to make … but O how he loves to answer the prayers of His children … just because He loves them! Answering prayers brings God GREAT pleasure!

Someone earlier said the wanted more money … who was that? (Give them a toonie). Now you have more money … are you satisfied?

If you want to be on the receiving side of God’s blessings in your life then you have to enough faith to ask specifically for whatever it is that you want!

These beggars wanted to see. There was nothing else because nothing else would have been enough for them. They needed what only Jesus could offer and so they cried out immediately, defiantly and specifically …

Lord, we want our sight!

I wonder if the size of our faith is measured by the size of our prayers.

So … What do you want? Really!

Every time we ask God for something, we are demonstrating our faith. Look at verse 34 …

“Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.”

And God loves you. You do not need to feel intimidated by your need. You need to make time to ask. God is not too busy for you and He is not trying to make you suffer beyond what you can bare. God answers prayers that others say are impossible and your concerns are important to Him!

God wants to make you a testimony of His grace and mercy …

So go ahead … ask … before He passes by!

Call worship team … “More than enough”