"Kept on Growing"

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." (Psalms 92:12)
Okay, so maybe that one from yesterday was a little tough for some of you; it requires having the right perspective in order to have everything flow together; and one simple sentence for summing things up, it is really not adequate enough to bring it all together. I guess that the main point I was getting to was that we need to be on the same page with God. God wants all men and women to come to the cross; all the 'whosoevers' of the world, includes everyone! Therefore, if we have an enemy, no matter how wicked that enemy might be, they are still listed as the 'whosoever' spoken of by God. We might not agree; we might not even care; but God sent His Son to pay a horrible price for them, so it really does not matter what we think or what we desire for them; what matters is what God's desire is, and His desire is that they would come to the cross! I heard something from Pastor Jack the other day and I had to share it. It really is a pretty simple concept of what it means to let God be the one who is in charge of our lives. The question of "who" do you want to be in charge, can be summed up by thinking of a very simple statement that you really never want to hear from God: "Okay, I will let you do it your way." If you think it's not even possible for it to happen, just ask Jonah, he will tell you what it's like to do things your own way; sooner or later your going to surrender to God's way, and you might not look so pretty at that point in your life. Yesterday I heard a message that showed me another way to look at Luke 11:9-13, the famous, "Ask, Seek, and Knock" passage of Scripture. Don't worry, it is totally relevant to the message; in fact, I will give the message first, and then sum it up by showing the way. First part of the message is based upon "The righteous," and who those might be: they are those who are exactly where God wants them to be, dependent upon Him! What are the two things that these two trees have in common, the palm tree, and the cedar?  Stature and usefulness! Besides being totally dependent upon their character and habitat, they are very useful and they both grow to enormous height. Now, regarding Luke 11:9-13, after Jesus says the "Ask, Seek and Knock" thing that we are to keep on doing, He uses the example of food to illustrate His point, such as "bread, fish and egg." Prior to yesterday, and based upon the parable Jesus shared in verses 5-8, I was always under the assumption that "keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking," had to do with doing it till you receive it. But here's the thing that brings it to the next level: we will need it again! And again! And again! We will always be hungry; we will always need nutrition; we will always need to be filled with the Holy Spirit! That is why we must keep on asking! And in doing so, we become like the "palm tree and the cedar." If you want to grow up good and strong, ask, seek, and knock, continually; and really want to do it God's way...
"This is what the LORD says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."" (Jeremiah 29:10-14) NLT