The Signs of the Times
August 15, 1892
“Ask and Ye Shall Receive”
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” We need have no fear that we shall run into extremes on the right hand or on the left in seeking the Lord. We are to go forward, inquiring at every step, Is this the way in which the Lord would have me go? We are to consecrate ourselves to him, in order that we may render him acceptable service. Whatever may be our calling in life, we may do our duty with an eye single to the glory of God. We are called to do our daily tasks with exactness and fidelity, realizing that Jesus has his eyes upon us, and that we are doing our work for his sake. Whether pleasing or unpleasing, we are to do the duty that lies directly in our pathway. If the Lord would have us bear a message to Nineveh, it will not be as pleasing to him to have us go to Joppa or to Capernaum. The Lord has reasons for sending us to the place in which our feet are directed. There may be souls pleading with God for light in the very place to which the Lord calls you, and God would have you make plain unto them the way of salvation. ST August 15, 1892, par. 1
When we are called to work for those we love, however hard may be the work, however unpleasant, we can still do it with ease and grace. When the heart is full of love for Jesus and those for whom he died, all our service will become easy; for his sake the burden will be light. We are surrounded with responsibilities, and we feel that it is necessary to exert our influence wholly on the Lord's side. When we realize what is involved in our service to Christ, we are driven to the throne of grace to ask the Lord for the very things we need. He whose eyes are anointed with spiritual discernment feels that it means something to be a worker together with God. He will realize that it is perilous to trust in self; for self-confidence is vain. It is only when we accept solemn responsibility, relying upon God and distrusting self, that we can become efficient workers in his cause. To be clothed with humility does not mean that we are to be dwarfs in intellect, deficient in our aspirations, and cowardly in our lives, shunning all burdens for fear we shall not carry them successfully. In the strength of Christ we are to take up our responsibilities, bearing them for his sake, and ever going to him for rest. ST August 15, 1892, par. 2
Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We are to come to the Lord with all our burdens, seeking wisdom from above to guide us at every step. ST August 15, 1892, par. 3
We need not walk stumblingly, or in uncertainty. If we ask guidance of the Lord, the promise is, “Ye shall receive.” The promise is yea and amen in Christ Jesus. “Seek and ye shall find.” This is what we need to do every hour of our life; for if we seek the right way in sincerity, we shall find it. We must feel the need of help from the Lord, and seek for it in humble prayer. There is need of dependence upon God; for Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” ST August 15, 1892, par. 4
However active you may be, if Jesus is not in all you do, your work will savor of self; dishonor his holy name, work injury to others, and be accounted as worse than nothing. A service that springs from self cannot be sanctioned with the presence of Christ, and will bring no reward to the toiler, but give his name a place upon the losing side. It is vain to ask the Lord to assist you to do a work that will have an injurious influence upon others, and bring disgrace upon his cause. ST August 15, 1892, par. 5
How many are seeking to gain heaven in their own way. They go to the Lord with hypocritical prayers, and do as did the Pharisee, present their merits before the God of heaven, and make themselves an offense before God. It is not to such knocking that the door will be opened. To the earnest, humble seeker, the promises of God are full of hope and assurance. The asking, the seeking, the knocking, are the things to which we are to give our first attention. The world, our temporal and personal affairs, are not to be placed first, and our spiritual interest to be considered second. The Lord says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Through the name of Jesus, the divine advocate, you are to come as a repentant sinner to a merciful, forgiving Father, believing that he will do just as he has promised to. Let those who desire the blessing of God knock, and wait at the throne of mercy with firm assurance, saying, “For thou, O Lord, hast said that everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” To leave no chance for unbelief or misunderstanding or misinterpretation of his word, the Lord repeats his promise; he makes assurance doubly sure. He longs to have those who would seek after God believe in him who is able to do all things. Jesus looked upon those that were assembled to listen to his words, and earnestly desired that that large mixed multitude might understand their privileges and appreciate the mercy, the beneficence, and loving-kindness of God. He sought to make the matter clear to their darkened understanding by the use of the most familiar and commonplace occurrence. He says, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 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?” Christ makes an appeal to them on the ground of their natural parental love. The father would not turn from his son who is hungry asking for bread; and should anyone dishonor God by imagining that he would not respond to the appeals of his children? Would they think him capable of trifling with his child, of tantalizing him by raising his expectations only to disappoint them? Would he promise to give him good and nourishing food, and then give him a stone? If ye, then, being human and evil, give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? The Lord assures those that ask him that he will give them the Holy Spirit. ST August 15, 1892, par. 6
(To be Continued.)