9/24/09 - Pentecost 16 - Mark 7:31-37

ASK BIG
- He can do it all
- He wants to do it all

It’s always interesting to hear what little kids ask for when their birthdays come around. And when I say “little kids” I mean 3, 4, maybe 5 years old. Because when kids are that age they’ll ask for anything, right? Whatever they want, whatever is on their mind at the time, they ask for – no matter how big of a request it may be. A bright red pony with a purple mane, an actual full-sized spaceship, a baby elephant! They come up with some of the most outrageous gift ideas because they don’t consider if their parents can afford it, they don’t worry whether it’s practical or not, and it doesn’t even cross their minds that they might not get it! They simply assume they will get what they ask for and so they ask big.
We can learn something from children who ask big. Because that is the same attitude we should have in our prayers to God. Whatever we want, whatever is on our mind at the time, we should ask for – no matter how big of a request it may be. Because this is God we’re talking about here! He is actually able to give us those things we want that seem impossible. He is actually powerful enough to grant us whatever we ask for and more. He can do it all. And he wants to do it all. He wants to give us everything we ask for just like parents want to give their kids everything. He cares for us, he looks out for us, and he wants us to know that he will listen to every prayer that we pray. He can do it all and he wants to do it all. So ask big.
The group of friends in our text today asked big. “Some people brought a man to Jesus who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.” They asked big because they knew Jesus could do it all. Jesus, at that time, was in the area of the Decapolis – a group of 10 cities. But this was not the first time he had been there. Matthew records for us that “People brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” The people in the Decapolis had seen Jesus do all of these wonderful things before to many different people. And that includes the demon-possessed man we read about two chapters before our text.
As Jesus was traveling through the country, a demon-possessed man fell on his knees in front of him. When Jesus asked him what the demon’s name was, he replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” Jesus then sent the evil spirit out of the man and into a herd of pigs. The man, now that he had been healed, “went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.”
These are two instances recorded for us in Scripture where Jesus did miraculous signs in the Decapolis area. And so the friends of the deaf and mute man knew what Jesus could do. They heard about him and they possibly saw him perform miracles before. So when they finally did get a chance to bring their ailing friend to the Lord they did not hesitate to ask big. Because they not only knew Jesus could do it all, but they believed he actually would.
I don’t think we always ask big, nor do I think we always ask for the right person. Sure, we ask for things all the time, don’t we? Our prayers are filled with requests to the Lord. But a lot of times we end up praying just for ourselves and we don’t ask as big as we could anyway. Look at the request of the friends in our story. I’m sure they had things in their lives that they would have liked Jesus to fix. All of us do, don’t we? We all have things about ourselves or about our lives that we would like to see improved. But the friends didn’t ask for anything for themselves – they asked for their friend in need. And they asked big. They were not selfish and they were not timid. They didn’t ask just for their friend to hear or just for him to speak, they asked for the whole thing and they did not hesitate to request just that.
We need to work on asking big and we need to work at not being selfish. Do you prayer for the people in this room? And I’m not talking about your friends, I’m talking about those who aren’t necessarily as close to you. Do you pray for them? Each of you has a membership list now. Use that membership list as a prayer list. Every night take a small group of names and pray for each one of them. Pray for each other. Pray for me. And pray big.
Don’t settle for things that you think might be possible. Because “nothing is impossible with God!” Ask him for big things, ask him for great things, ask him for things that no one can humanly do. Do you know someone who is sick or suffering? Don’t just ask that the person is restored to his or her former health, ask for that person to be better than they were before! Why not? Why not ask big? This is God we’re talking about! He can do it all! Do you pray for this congregation? Don’t just pray that we don’t lose any more members, pray that the Lord blesses us so much that we are able to open up another church in Delta! Why not? Why not ask big? This is God we’re talking about! He can do it all! Do you pray for somebody to be brought to faith in Christ? Don’t just pray that that person be brought to faith, but that the Holy Spirit works in that person’s heart in such a way that they not only are brought to faith but that they become an unshakable Christian, a beacon of light to unbelievers and a tireless worker for the kingdom. Why not? Why not ask big? This is God we’re talking about! He can do it all.
And he wants to do it all. He wants to give us what we ask for because look at what he’s given us already. “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.” But God the Father is not the only one who gave, so did the Son: “Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Of course, we cannot leave out what was given us by the third person of the Trinity: Scripture says that when you were baptized you received “the gift of the Holy Spirit,” which is the gift of faith. God has given you forgiveness, he has given you eternal life, he has given you salvation – all without your asking, all before you were ever conceived.
And so now, now that you are a living child of God, he wants to give you more! And he does, doesn’t he? He gives you things everyday that you don’t ask for. An inordinate amount of clothing, more than enough food, family members, a solid church to attend, a vehicle to drive, a mind to understand… need I go on? The Lord takes care of you, his children, better than any parents who have walked the face of this earth. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” God cares for you. And he wants to do what is best for you at all times. So he asks you to ask big.
“Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” This is what God wants from his children. He wants you to ask big. Because he promises, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” What an invitation! The Lord is opening the door for us to ask him for anything! Now, that doesn’t mean he’ll give us everything we ask for. If a child asks his mother for an ice cream cone, the mother may say, “No, it’s 5 O’clock and I don’t want you to spoil your supper.” Although she wants to give her child whatever he asks for, she knows it would be better for him if she did not. The Lord treats our requests in the same way. He listens to every one of our prayers and he makes sure that we get what is best for us. That means that God will give us what we ask for, or something better. God will give us what we ask for, or something better. God does not leave us empty handed. He will accomplish what we need in one way or another.
“After he took [the deaf and mute man] aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.” Is that what his friends asked of the Lord? No, they simply asked for the Lord to heal him by placing his hand on him. And I’m sure they wanted to see him do it and not have Jesus take the man aside. But what they prayed for happened anyway, even though it wasn’t the way they had planned.
So do not become discouraged. If your prayers are not being answered in the way you imagined them to be, don’t worry. The Lord will accomplish what is best for the ones he loves in his own way and his own time. Pray to the Lord and leave it in his hands. He can take care of it. And he doesn’t need to consult you before he does.
Never underestimate the Lord. He can do it all and he wants to do it all for you. So ask him for it all. Ask him for whatever you want because he’s really already given you the ultimate gift. He’s given you eternal life in heaven, anything else you ask for is simple compared to that. Ask him for help, ask him for guidance, ask him for others. But whatever you do, ask big.

Amen.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
- Ephesians 3:20-21