Ye have not because ye ask not
Category: Prayer
Key Passage: James 4:1-3
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: September 8, 2024
Turn your Bibles, if you would, please do James chapter number four. James chapter number four very quickly tonight. And praise the Lord, you are on Wednesday night service. We have been covering the 12 apostles just going through an apostle Wednesday night. Then last Wednesday I just felt like the Lord wanted us to kind of change to the subject of prayer.
And I don’t know about you, but I need some encouragement and some challenge from time to time in my prayer life. And I just felt like the Lord kind of wants to focus on prayer a little bit, maybe just the fall and a lot of different campaigns going on and just different things going on. We need prayer. God’s church travels the farthest and the fastest on its knees.
And tonight, you may not learn anything new. I’m going to be up front with you. It’s not going to be like one of those real in-depth, deep Bible studies, if you will, but I hope and pray it will be a challenge to us all. Very familiar passage. We’re just going to stick to that passage for the most part tonight and just focus on this thing of prayer. And I am praying it will be a challenge to all of us, to myself included, to get me back.
Prayer clauses just staying on fire for the Lord, just hot, burning for the Lord. By the way, you all go through stages. I go through stages. And sometimes my prayer life is just where I wanted to be, and often it’s not. And I need a little fuel for the fire from time to time. And I’m praying that God to use this to give me a little, add a little fuel to our prayer lives tonight. James chapter before, and we’re going to just start in verse number one.
Read verse number one through verse number three of God’s Word. If you would, if you’re able to, would you please stand? Just try to do that, show God’s God’s God’s God. And he’s magnified his word above all his name. That’s amazing passage, the Word of God, how valuable and precious it is. James 4, y’all are out there tonight? Amen, y’all there? Good, good, good, good. That’s good. Anybody tired tonight?
All right, we’ve got some of those for sure. But Ted, he drives the bus. What time do you leave your bus? Six o’clock. Not too bad. That’s early enough, but he’s still in church tonight. That’s a good thing, you know. I know somebody said, “Well, I get up earlier than that.” Well, good for you, amen. I’m glad you’re here. Just trying to focus on Ted for a minute, amen. James chapter number four, look at verse number one.
James 4. He says, “From whence come wars.” Now wars are groups of people fighting against groups of people. “For whence come wars and fighting,” that may be a little bit more just like individuals fighting against each other. “For whence come wars and fighting among you. Come they not hence even of your lust that war in your members?” In other words, we have all this outside fighting because something on the inside is not right.
Okay, that’s you can just kind of blow down Tennessee vernacular, that’s it. And by the way, if you have a group of people, they’re always fussing and fighting out of contention and whatnot, of course, pride, but inside things aren’t right. See, that’s what he’s saying. “From which comes wars and fighting among you, come they not hence even of your lust, the war in your members.”
Verse number two, he says, “Ye lust and have not. Ye kill.” That’s amazing to me. You get to even to the point where you get to the point where you’re ready to kill, you kill and desire to have and cannot obtain, you fight and war." Yet, would you say those last seven words with me? Here we go: “Yet ye have not because ye ask not.” I’m sure you heard that many times, but we’re just going to focus on those seven words. “Ye have not because ye ask not.”
Now verse number three, he says, “Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” Amiss has got some kind of problem with it, is sick. If you were sickly because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your own lust. Now we’re just going to focus so those seven words. Would you say it with me again one more time? Here we go: “Yet ye have not because ye ask not.”
Just seven words. It’s amazing God can say something in seven words. It takes a pastor four thousand words. Is that what about that? You know, he’s God, amen. I’m just oh, Bible, amen. But let’s pray. We’ll kick pray that God will challenge and maybe put a little fuel on our prayer lives through the service tonight. Father, I do ask for that. Lord, would you do that? I know I need this, Lord. And Father, forgive me sometimes I’m being so nonchalant in my prayer life.
And Lord, I do pray, would you challenge us? Lord, pour fuel on our prayer lives, Lord. Thank you for the avenue and come to you. It’s amazing, Lord, and talk to you. And you give us things. And just the opening Jesus you’ve made for us. And Father, let us come. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Father. Challenge us tonight, be men and women of prayer. And we’ll thank you, Lord, for what you do.
And Father, we’re asking for that in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
He was an older gentleman. He was telling the story. He said him and his son and his grandson and his grandson-in-law was there. And they’re working out on the field, and they had a bulldozer. His son had just an older, smaller bulldozer. And wasn’t brand new. And he wasn’t old or whatnot. Had issues some time to time. And one of the tracks started coming off.
And, you know, those bulldozers are those tracks, well, they’re hard to deal with. And so he stopped, and they were going to put that track back on there. And the way you do that, there’s a, that track’s kind of held together with a master pin, a pin in it. And he said, we stopped everything. And he said, my son, I think his name was David, remember right? David started pounding on that pin with a hammer, just pounding on that thing, and that thing just would not budge.
I mean, you know, just pounding on a pounding on it just wouldn’t come out. And finally the dad, he’s actually a preacher, the dad, stopped and said, “Hey, why do we do this?” I hadn’t thought about it either, not, you know. He said, “But let’s just stop.” We hadn’t even prayed. And they stopped, and all four of them get around that bulldozer there, they just stopped and they prayed.
And nothing fancy, just a simple prayer, he said, you know, and in the name of Jesus and all the old. But they prayed about it, and they got done praying, and his son grabbed that hammer, and he hit that pin one more time, and he says, amazing, that pin went flying, just popped right out. And they’re like, wow, all of them. Isn’t it amazing? We say we have a lot of faithful, and God answers like, wow, isn’t that amazing, you know? I’m guilty, too. That’s what we all are.
And he said to his son, he said, “So what are you thinking right now?” He said, “This is what I’m thinking right now, Dad. Why didn’t we pray a long time ago?”
But aren’t we all guilty of that? We try everything else in the world, and then the last resort, we pray. And God says, “Hey, friend, ye have not because ye ask not.” What would it be amazing of God when we get to heaven one time? He looks at you and he says, “Hey, buddy, I want to do these things for you, but ye have not because ye ask not.” What would be something of God sitting there at church here tonight? “Hey, ye have not because ye ask not.” Just plain and simply, that’s why you don’t have it.
Now those seven words, we’re going to emphasize a couple words here. We’re going to be done for the night. First word we want to emphasize, he says, help me out. Would you sit with me? Here we go. Here we go. “Ye have not.”
Good. Did you notice that? “Ask.” Nothing fancy there. Just ask. He doesn’t say you didn’t ask a certain way or he didn’t say enough fancy words. He said he just didn’t ask. I’m amazed how much the New Testament uses that word ask.
Look over in chapter number one, James one. And look at verse number five. James one, verse number five. And it’s just so plain and simple, God puts it in his word. He didn’t say you’ve got to use $10 words. He said, just ask.
That’s all, just simple. It’s plain and simple. He said, just ask. Look over James 1. Look at verse number 5. James 1, verse number 5. Before that, he’s talking about going through problems and tough times. And he says, God’s allowing you to go through that. He’s trying to make it perfect in a tire that you’re not lacking, you’re not wanting anything. And so it’s talking about tough times. And then he says that verse number 5 right there. He says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask.” Just plain and simple, ask.
“Let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” What does it mean upbraideth not? He won’t get mad at you. “Why are you asking me?” God won’t do that. Nothing tired of you coming to him. He loves it when you come to him. I think recently I compared to my grandson, Ryan, has been calling Tammy. And he will, excuse me, he’ll call Tammy and he’s four, Ryan, and he’ll call my wife.
And if she won’t answer, then he’ll call Sarah. And then if Sarah, you know, he’ll go back and forth between those two. And if Tammy, he’ll call Tammy first, Tammy doesn’t answer it. He’ll call Sarah and not Sarah. Sarah, why isn’t he answer it? You know? And then vice versa. He’ll call Sarah. Sarah doesn’t answer. Call Tammy. Why didn’t say Tammy? Why didn’t say Sarah answer? Why didn’t Sarah answer? You know? Sarah, Sarah, something like that is what it says. But anyway, he’s getting it down better. But he’s been telling Tammy here lately, and he’s been saying, “Grandma, don’t ignore me.”
If she doesn’t answer the phone next time, he’d say, “Grandma, don’t ignore me.” He’s got a vocabulary. He really does.
And she loves it. She doesn’t bother her a bit. She eats it up. Same thing with God. He loves it when you’re calling. Hey, you need some wisdom. You’re going through a hard time. Don’t know what to do. He said, “Hey, let him ask of God.” Just ask. That giveth liberally to all men and upbraideth not. And watch that last part there, verse number five. “And it shall be given him.” Wow, “shall.”
Pretty awesome. Look over in Matthew chapter number seven, if you will. Matthew chapter number seven.
We can look so many places, but we want to go home sometime tonight, and you’re awake right now, and I want to keep you awake, amen. But look over here, Matthew 7, and look down to verse number 7. Matthew 7, and look in verse number 7, if you would, please. And I want you to just kind of notice how many times he uses this word, ask. I’m just plain and simple.
Just down the earth where you and I ought to live at least. Verse number seven, he says, what’s that first word right there? “Ask.”
He didn’t say there, you have to write it out and do it in a certain way. All the grammar has to be right. I’d be in trouble if the grammar had to be right. Praise the Lord, he didn’t say you have to spell it all right. I’d really be in trouble then for sure. He just has asked. “Ask, and it shall be given you.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?
“Seeking, ye shall find.” I think he’s going to the next level there. “Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” “For everyone that,” what, what’s the next word? “Asketh.” Asketh. They say, everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son what, what’s the next word? “Ask” a bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he what, what’s the next word?
“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 what? “Ask” him. It’s amazing what God give you sometime, you just ask.
I wonder how much asking we’re really doing our day and time. Just plain old simple, just old-fashioned asking God. He said, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” It’s amazing how many time God just, I just want you to ask.
Now, here’s the thing. Yes, verse number three there says, “Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” That you may consume it upon your own lust. But you can’t get to verse number three unless you go through verse number two. It’s amazing when you start asking how God can show you your heart. It’s amazing how much asking God and meeting with God changes your heart. Sometimes I think the biggest thing that changes, yes, we get things from God, but just, and I really get earnest as I ought to be in my prayer closet, it changes me often more than anything.
And I can’t get this thing where God’s saying, “Hey, I would give you more, but I need to change your heart.” I don’t get there unless you start over there: “Ye have not because ye’re not asking.”
Sometimes I really get asking God, then God says, “All right, Paul, I like to give you more things, but I need to change your selfish heart right there.” But you don’t get to three unless you go through two. Ask him. Just plain old simple asking. Little boy said, “Hey, Mom, why did you give a popsicle to Susie? You didn’t give me one.” And she said, “Because you didn’t ask, Johnny.” Just asking. Is that Bible or not, friend?
That’s just what God says. It’s asking. “Ye have not because ye ask not.” Asking. Well, you say, “Well, preacher, you know, if we’re not living, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” And that’s true. Psalm 66:18, it’s true. But, friend, when I start asking so often as when he says, “Hey, your heart’s not right.”
I think about my old preacher years gone by, Brother Howes, and he had a daughter that was in the hospital. And it was back of the day, they didn’t have all the modern equipment, they didn’t have nurses like Tabitha Johan and Tammy Chisgarer that know how to fix people. That’s what it was back in the day, you know. But anyway, you know, back of the day, and their daughter was very, very sick. I mean, just, it seemed like it was life-threatening, and maybe it was.
And my own preacher, he said, “Man, I got alone somewhere. God, my daughter, you can’t let my daughter pass. God, you got to do something. You got to touch my daughter.” And when he got real earnest in asking, the Holy Spirit said, “Hey, what about how you and that deacon got to fight?” It was the church before. It was several years back. But when he got real earnest about asking, that’s when the Holy Spirit said, “Hey, you need to make things right.”
It was back before cell phones. It’s hard to believe. There was a civilization made it before cell phones. What about that, you know? And he went in the hospital, found the phone the best he could. And he couldn’t get a hold of the man if I remember right just that moment, but he said, “Lord, I will. I’ll call him.” And eventually he did. Apologized to the man. It was interesting when he did that. That man said, “Well, I apologize to you. It was my fault.” And, boy, they got back together.
And God heard his prayer about his daughter. But he didn’t get to the point where God said, “Hey, something’s not right,” and you get that right until he really got earnest in asking him, “Lord, touch my daughter, let my daughter live.”
John Gatch, he’s an evangelist. John Gatch years ago when his young man, he had been out of Bible college just a little bit, and he was excited. You know, evangelists, they want these big meetings, and he had a good meeting at a good church. It had a Christian school, pretty good-sized church. And I was excited about it, and he went to preach there, and he would preach to the church at nighttime, a revival meeting, the daytime of the Christian school, the chapel. And the first bit, nothing was happening. Just nothing.
Man, he’s preaching his best messages, and nothing was happening. And he went across the street from that church one morning and prayed for God to do something for several hours. Have I remembered right? Notice that several hours. “God, I want you to do something.” And after he asked for a good while, the Holy Spirit reminded him, “Remember that Greek test?”
Oh, dirty Becker-Sillera. We don’t want to talk about it. It’s a Greek test. Oh, no. Special Bible Institute starting back up to me tomorrow night. And he said, “Remember that Greek test? Remember you cheated on that?” He said, “Lord, that was a while back ago.” And Lord said, “Well, you want my blessing on the meeting or not?” And it got to a phone.
And he called the guy over the Bible college, and he said, “Hey,” he said, “This is John Gatch.” He said, “I’m in such and such place preaching this revival.” He said, “I know. We’re excited about you. You’ve got a big meeting. We’re excited for you. How are the crowds?” He said, “Well, they’re pretty good. The people’s been working. David Rueh, prepare for this revival.” And he said, “But nothing’s happening.”
And he felt embarrassed, man. He already knows he’s there preaching this revival. And everybody knows about it out of us. He said, “I got something to tell you. I’ve been praying about nothing’s been happening in the revival. And the Holy Spirit reminded me of this Greek test way back. And I want you know I cheated on that. And I want you know I’m willing, I’ll turn my diploma in. I’ll give it back. I just got to get this thing right.” And then he said, “It’s all right. Thank you for confessing. I forgive you.”
Just go on right after that. He rushed into preaching chapel. He’s like, “Lord, what do you want me to preach?” You know, and just just wanting God to move. And I never forget this, he said it felt like the Lord said, “It doesn’t matter. Just preach something and get out of the way. I’m going to move.” Except that chapel service, God just blessed.
You know, sometimes Christian school students can get a little hard and whatnot. And he said that the invitation, man, the altar was packed out with the Christian school students. This is the part I remember. He said, after that, before cell phones, he said, there’s a couple phones in the school, and there was a line for every phone. Students were lined up calling their parents saying they’re sorry. They wanted to get right with the Lord.
But he did not get where God pointed out his sin that you be consumed upon your own lust. He didn’t get to that point where God pointed out the error until he had been asking for several hours. Hey, what do you say? “Ye have not because ye ask not.” Just simply ask not. God wants you and I just simply plain old asking.
He said, “Well, am I going to consume it? Is it all for me?” I don’t know. You start asking for, and the Holy Spirit is liable to point it out to you. He’s a wonderful prayer partner, the Holy Spirit is. He’s our guide, guys are in all truth. Now, we talk about ask for a bit here tonight. We talk about ask. We’ll point out just a couple more things here, these seven words. That’s all seven words. We’ll talk about ask. But let’s look here at these.
Not the very first word, but the next three words, he says, “Ye,” what’s the next two words? “Have not.” Excuse me, two words. I lose track. I can’t count right. Ain’t sorry. “Ye have not.” You don’t have something you’re doing without.
You know why? That’s what God said. You’re doing without something, whatever it may be, simply because they’re not asking. “Ye have not.” I don’t know about you, but it could be tangible and financial things, material things. But sometimes I think we don’t have an impact on people like we like to for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we have not, whatever may be, but this time we’re kind of going that way. We have not. We’re doing without something because we don’t ask. D. L. Moody said this. Great preacher, years going by is in heaven now. D. L. Moody said, “Those who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer.”
He didn’t say men and women with a high IQ. He didn’t say men and women of talent. He didn’t say men and women of wealth. He said men and women of prayer. So often we have not influence for the Lord. Because, yeah, I like to make a difference in my workplace. I like to make a difference in my Sunday school class that I teach. Whatever ministry, the jail ministry, all these, I like to make the influence. And we have not.
We do without many times, simply because we’re not asking.
Isn’t that a sad thing? The preacher I was talking about earlier, Brother Howes, he wrote a book, What Great Men Have Taught Me. I like the book. He talks about a lot of great preachers that are in heaven now. He talked about John Rice, Lester Roloff, Oliver B. Green. Anybody here remember Oliver B. Green? You ever listen to him on the radio? Remember his prayer? What would he always pray in that prayer? “Save the soul near as hell.”
You know, he had that voice. He just, he always sounds like Yosemite Sam to me, the way his voice fluctuation goes. Great preacher, and it influenced America back in the day. He talks about Bob Jones, Sr., G. B. Vick. G. B. Vick, he was, for just a bit, he helped Jay Frank Norris, but for a bit he pastored too, the largest church in America at the same time for a bit. Jay Frank Norris did that, and he helped with that.
These great preachers, and he writes, he knew them all personally, and he just writes about these great things he learned from these men. And I was always amazed by this. He just talks about how different they were. He talks about Bill Rice, the original, if you will, the one that bought the land proper and all that down there, all these great preachers. He talked about how different they were. Some were businessmen. G. B. Vick was a businessman, and always suit and tie and everything. Bill Rice, the old Bill Rice, has been gone for a while.
They say, just a friendliest note, you can make a friend with anybody. I mean, just, you know, if you’re having a battle, let him go over there, and he’ll make friends with him. He’ll just make friends with him. He can just make a friend with everybody. But just different. They say sometimes in the middle of the night, 2 a.m., you hear noise out there at the ranch, and it’d be Bill Rice out there riding his horse in the middle of the night, praying. He’d just ride his horse all night, or late in the night, just pray.
And oh, they’re all so different. John Rice is very intellectual, very intelligent. If you read one of his books, if you have a book, Curtis Search and wrote about the same subject, John Rice, you know, wrote about the same subject. John Rice will have 100 pages. Curtis Search will have that in 30 pages, and 30 pages, and 30 pages, and 100, amen. But John Rice will have that in 30 pages, and 100, amen. But John Rice is just knowledgeable, very intelligent, man.
Lester Roloff? So different. Lester Roloff, if you know anything about him. We used to have some people in our church that had worked at the Roloff homes for a bit, had children’s homes, hundreds of people in and whatnot, and greatly used by God when my mom got saved, young Christians, she used to listen to him on the radio, and God really used him to kind of grow over when she’s young Christians. Lester Roloff, just, just one of those guys. Brother Howes said one time, he went to see Lester, and he was on the radio live.
And he thought, you know, he’s going to be in a suit and tie and everything on, and talking on this microphone, you know, and he walked in the room. He said, “Lester Roloff?” First of all, had his socks and shoes off. He was laying on the floor, had the microphone up to his mouth, laying on the floor, and his legs and his feet propped up on the wall, just talking on the radio, preaching away, you know. That’s Lester Roloff. He just, you know, just they’re all so different. It’s just so different.
But all of those great men, now listen, here’s the thing, all of those great men, the thing, the common denominator, the thing that they all had, every single one of those, so different, but they all were men of prayer. They’re all greatly used by God. And the one thing they had in common, they were all men that just spent time, and they were into prayer. Prayer, friend, “Ye have not, because ye ask not.”
You know, our church, we need God. God’s been good to us. We could kind of say, well, praise the Lord, we started a little daycare. We got, you know, what, 25 acres, and it’s all paid for, and all that other stuff, a radio station, and a school, and the Bible. We could say all that. But, you know, we have all that organization. If God’s not in the middle of it, God’s hand’s not working, it’s no good.
We got fall programming, soul-winning programming on the river and baptized, all this other stuff. But, do we have all that? God’s not working. What good is it? Twice the Bible says, “Vain is the help of man.” Friend, how do we get God working His hand on a prayer?
I heard a fellow today. He said he went to Church’s Fried Chicken. Anybody ever been to Church’s Fried Chicken? Wow. They used to have one right here, if I remember right. Did they have a Church’s Fried Chicken? Yeah, they did. It’s gone. Is it gone? We’re backsliding in this town. I’ll tell you what. No Church’s Fried Chicken. Something’s not right. And he said, he went to Church’s Fried Chicken, and he went up there to order.
And they said, “Sir, we need to tell you up front, we’ve got mashed potatoes, we got mac and cheese, we got green beans, we got all the sides. We don’t have any chicken.”
And he’s like, “Wait a second, man. I’m, you know, I’m here to get chicken. This is Church’s Fried Chicken. You got everything else, but you ain’t got no chicken? What is this, you know?” And a church can have everything else, all the sides, and not God working. Well, how good is a church? Man, we can have it all, all the techniques and all the different programs. But, no God, what good are we?
How do you get God working? Well, he says, “Ye have not because ye ask not.”
We’re doing without so often. How many times I’ve done without something because I’m not prayed as I ought to? The priority of prayer. I’m not careful if I get caught up doing everything in the world and I’m not praying like I ought to, and it’s empty, going through the motions, if God’s not in it. Prayer.
Hudson Taylor, great, great missionary, years going by. Hudson Taylor said this, missionary to China. He said, “I’ve seen many men work without praying, though I’ve never seen any good come out of it. But I’ve never seen a man pray without working.” Wow.
Hudson Taylor, before he went to China, he was just a young man. He was trying to get himself ready for the mission field. He was trying to grow in the Lord, and God had been working, and God already called him to China, but he hadn’t went yet, and he went to a preacher. He asked for a book about China. The preacher said, “Well, you know what? I want that because I believe God’s called me to China.” And the preacher said, “Well, how do you expect to get there?”
And he replied, he said, “Well, I don’t know, but in all probability, I would go forth, as did the 12 and the 70, relying solely on the one who sent me to supply my needs.” And the older preacher put his hand on his shoulder. And they said, “I, my boy, as you grow older, you become wiser than that. Such an idea would do very well in the days of Christ himself was on earth, but not now.”
Well, Hudson Taylor’s a young preacher. He didn’t like that. He knew the Holy Spirit. He didn’t just ring true, you know, when something’s not right. And Hudson Taylor kind of got a little thing inside. He said, “You know, I want to. I will learn.” He had this thought for when he was a young preacher before we went to China. He said, “I want to be able to move men through God and prayer alone. I just want to be able to move men through God and prayer alone.” That fault just, and he kind of tested. He said, “If I’m going to be able to go to China and God’s going to use me over there, around the world, they said, I’ve got to be able to move men through God and prayer alone.”
So he kind of put himself through a test. His boss had asked him, he said, “Now look,” he said, “If I don’t pay you when I’m supposed to pay you, he said, I want you to remind me.” This was telling Hudson Taylor, his boss. And Hudson Taylor said, he kind of took the challenge, “While I’m trying to move men through prayer and God alone.” So Hudson Taylor said, “I’m not going to tell him. I’m going to pray about it if he gets behind.” And that’s what he was doing, and his boss got behind.
And Hudson Taylor’s prayed about it. And Saturday night, he found—I’m going to change the figure here because the coins that were used wouldn’t make sense to us. So I’m going to use this—he said, “All I had left was a $50 bill.” I’m going to use that term. So all I had Saturday night. He prayed about it.
Sunday, he was a young man, he was excited about the ministry, about serving God, and he just spent his whole—he was not married at the time—he spent his whole day on Sunday just working for the Lord. And it was about 10 o’clock Saturday night, excuse me, Sunday night. And all he had was that $50, and he was busy. And he told the Lord, “Now, Lord, if you don’t give me anything, I’m not going to have enough to have food and everything for the rest of the week.”
About 10 o’clock Sunday night, he was witnessing. And the poor man came in and said, “Ask, would you go and pray with my wife? She’s dying.”
He was led down at court and up a flight of just miserable stairs and into a wretched room. He said, “What a pathetic sight it was.” Four or five children stood about, their sunken cheeks and temples telling the unmistakable story of slow starvation. And they said lying on just a wretched pallet was a mother. The tiny little infant moaning at her side.
And oh, wow. And he said this, “If he said, if I had more, I’d be glad to give him some, but all I got,” says, “$50 bill in my pocket.” Hudson Taylor, a young man, he said, “I sought to comfort them by saying there was a kind and loving Father looking down from heaven. But something within him cried, ‘You hypocrite! Telling these unconverted people about a kind and loving Father in heaven, not prepared yourself to trust him without your $50?’”
He said, “I was convicted. I felt miserable. Not being able to continue the conversation.” He said to the man, “You asked me to come and pray with your wife. Let us pray.” And he knelt down, but no sooner had he said, “Our Father,” and he heard a voice within saying, “Dare you mock God? Dare you kneel down and call him Father with that $50 in your pocket?” Finishing the prayer, he arose.
He said, “I put my hand in my pocket and slowly drawing out the $50, I gave it to the man, telling him that it might seem a small matter to me, small matter for me to relieve them, saying that I was comparatively well off compared to them. But that imparted with that $50 I was given to my all. But that what I had been trying to tell them was indeed true. God really is a Father, may be trusted.” And how the joy came back in full flood tied in my heart of joy. Not only was the poor woman’s life saved, but my life had been saved too. He was convinced that the money thus given in Christ’s name was a loan which Christ would repay. He went home, happy and heart. But before retiring, he asked the Lord not to let this loan be long one.
And he would have nothing to eat the next day or the next morning. The postman’s knock was heard at the door. He very rarely received a letter on Monday morning. Hence, he was surprised when the landlady came in with a letter. On opening the envelope, he found a sheet blank of blank paper and $200 inside. And he said, “Praise the Lord.” He exclaimed, “400% in 12 hours of investment. Pretty good.”
Prayer. “Ye have not because ye ask not.”
Hudson Taylor had such an influence. We’re almost done, but Hudson Taylor had such an influence. Started the China Inland Mission. Literally hundreds of missionaries came to China through that mission through Hudson Taylor. Well, evangelized so much, and God blessed to use them in such a great way. In fact, Hudson Taylor in China back of the day became a little bit of a folklore. Everybody did do about him. And it was such a hero to the Chinese people. Communist course came in and in Communist China now.
Communists got tired of this folklore, this hero, Hudson Taylor, and always the people, “Well, what about his God? Jesus?” and just his influence, and they didn’t like it. And they say the communists hired an author to write a book against Hudson Taylor. And that was his job. Communists hired him to write some slander about Hudson Taylor and kind of dispel this folklore and his hero and his God, just Jesus thing.
And that writer began to research about Hudson Taylor, and he found me in, “Hey, what do you know about St. Taylor?” And he knew about, “Hey, he told me about Jesus.” And I got saved. Jesus changed my life. And he’s seen so many changed lives. Hearing so much about Hudson Taylor and his God, Jesus, that author ended up getting saved. Hudson Taylor was a man and said, “Hey, I want to move men through God and prayer alone.”
Friend, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” What amazing statement God makes.
One last little fault here. We’re going to be done. We’ve got to get out of here. That very first word there. That very, very—is there seven words? What’s the first word? “Ye.”
Now, the King James Bible, if it says “thee” or “thou,” that’s singular. Remember, we’ve taught about that. If it’s the “th,” it’s got the one single, you know, that’s the way he’ll better remember it, the single. If it’s “ye” or “you,” it’s got the “y,” that’s plural. “Ye have not.” Who’s it talking to? Look over in James 1, look at chapter 1, look at verse number 1. Who’s it talking to here? James 1 and verse number 1. We’re going to go home here, just a second here.
James 1:1. He says, “James, the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” James, many think James was the pastor of the Church of Jerusalem. He’s not just talking to Jewish people. He’s talking to the Jewish people that was scattered. Well, who was that? That was the saved. Remember the day of Pentecost? 3,000 people saved and baptized? 5,000 men later on, that church of Jerusalem just exploded.
God was blessing, and a lot of Jewish people were saved, and revival was going on there. And remember he told them, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Remember that? They didn’t do it. They stayed there in Jerusalem. Now what happened? Persecution came. And because of the persecution, they scattered around everywhere. Let’s get out of God’s persecution is bad here. See?
And so who is he writing to? He’s writing to those he was pastor, you know, and he had a heart for those people. These people I pastored, they’re scattered all over. And he’s writing to these twelve tribes scattered everywhere under persecution. I want you to know when he’s talking to them, he says, “Ye have not because ye ask not.”
You have not because you’re under persecution right now. You have not because Rome’s so cruel and mean, and you have not because people had saws, locking you up, putting in jail and all. He didn’t give them excuses. He didn’t blame. He still told them they had to move out of their hometown, their home country, away from family, their home church. He still said, “Ye have not because ye ask not.”
That’s pretty plain. People under persecution, scattered all over. Hey, if someone said, “I’ll pay you $100 to work for me every hour you work for me,” how many want to work for that guy for a little bit? I wouldn’t mind it for a bit. I wonder if I’d take an hour and pray to the God that provides more than $100 bucks an hour. I wonder what all God provided if I truly sincerely prayed at least an hour a day. I wonder about that. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer.
A little poem we’ll go home. It’s called “The Difference.” You’ve probably heard it by Alan Grant. Brother Allen, I’ll fault that fit, Phil. Alan and your son Grant. It’s what the poem says. It says, “I got up early one morning, I rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me and heavy became each task. Why doesn’t God help me? I wondered. He answered, ‘You didn’t ask.’ I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day it told on gray and bleak. I wondered why God didn’t show me and explain. You didn’t seek. So to determine to be in God’s presence, I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided my child, ‘You did not knock.’ I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray. Help me out.”
Would you say it one more time? “Ye have not.”
Oh, let’s get back to just simple asking. Would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes? Maybe you’re there tonight. You just say, “I need to ask more. I need to get back to just old-fashioned asking.” God spoke to my heart. He challenged me. I just want to get back to just asking. Just asking me back to just ask you. Just ask you. I’m with you, friend. I’m with you.
Maybe God has to change your heart. It’s a wonderful thing how God can change us during our prayer time. Maybe you hear tonight, you say, “I have a specific thing. I believe the Lord wants me to pray about it. I’m committing tonight to pray about it until God either answers or changes my heart.” I’m committing tonight. Just keep praying until God either answers or changes my heart about it. That’s you tonight. You slip ahead and I preach with a specific thing.
“I’m just committing. I’m going to keep praying until God either answers or changes my heart about it.” Many hands, many hands. God bless you. God bless you. Would you please stand? We’re going to have a word of prayer. Would you just come and spend some time in prayer tonight? Let’s just come. Let’s don’t make a ritual out of it. Let’s come and sincerely pray tonight. Let’s seek the Lord tonight. “Ye have not.” So many times in my life, I have not because I ask not. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you, Lord, for the simplicity of your word. I need that, Lord.
Father, help ours, help my prayer closet to be hot, and our prayer life daily throughout the day to be hot because this verse, this phrase you put in your word, “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” Lord, we thank you for what you do. In Jesus’ name we ask, Father, amen.
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar ＂Ye have not because ye ask not…＂ - Wednesday PM 09⧸04⧸2024 [XKAqEkc-fc8]