Secret of Matt 7:7-8
Many people seem to freeze at the notion of serving in ministry because there is no sense the Lord is calling them—because doors do not seem open. It is lost on us that the Lord implores us to go out into the highways and byways of life and compel them to come (with compelling love, life and lyrics).
In the familiar passage in Matthew 7 within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a hint in verses 7-8.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
One plain reading is that if we are expecting doors to be opened, it must be that we are asking, seeking and knocking—all three, not just one or two out of the three, to see doors open. (Recall that the original greek had no punctuation. That is the choice of the translator.)
May folks are stuck wondering if it is the Lord's will to take on a ministry opportunity. Question? Are you asking, and are you seeking and are you knocking to see doors opened for people and for outcomes you are passionate about? In light of this passage it seems out of order to speak about unopened doors. The Lord lays that responsibility on us. Those that do not stop all three, are convinced the Lord has too much fun opening doors. He does so with great delight.
Choose to be knocking, seeking while asking for a kingdom-expanding result. The Apostle Paul and others effective in ministry have done so over the centuries. Let's join them, with our attention fixed on Jesus, living and serving by faith in a competent God, jealous for His glory.
Nelson Malwitz, Finishers Project Founder, September 2009