Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study
Dr. Kevin Zadai 03-26-2023
God Wants to Give Us the Kingdom
"Jesus literally took the lid off prayer; He removed all limitations, so that we can believe for anything."
~Kevin Zadai
Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give
you the kingdom.
—Luke 12:32
DISCUSSION:
This week we're going to be talking about prayer. Think about this: Why would I pray if God didn't want to answer me? Why would He tell us to pray if He wasn't going to answer? Would you even pray if you knew God wouldn't answer and give you what you asked for? The spirit of religion detracts from the fact that God loves us and He's a good Father Who wants to provide for us. God wants to give us the kingdom.
In Luke 12:32, Jesus said to be of good cheer because the Father desires to give you the kingdom. That whole idea is that God wants us to pray because He wants to give it to us. I saw this reality in Heaven, yet it is foreign on earth. You should see how the churches fight against this doctrine of prayer.
READ AND PRAY FROM JOHN 14 THROUGH 17
I read John chapters 14 through 17 all the time, which are my favorite chapters. I'm constantly reading them because I can literally take every verse and pray it over myself and others, then I can teach from these all the time. They're just so good. I recommend that you all read John 14 through 17 over and over again. You probably have devotions or want to read through the Bible in a year; however, I suggest you just take a couple of months and read chapters 14 through 17 over and over and over again. Read from them every day as often as you can.
The whole doctrine you need for your life is in John 14 through 17. It may sound strange, but if all you had were those pages from your Bible, you could function for the rest of your life based on what's said in those chapters. John didn't just quote Jesus and talk about some of the things that Jesus did; he captured a deep level of truth and doctrine of what Jesus was teaching. Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded events and quoted Jesus, but John gets into greater detail.
GOD WANTS TO PROVIDE FOR YOU
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
—Matthew 7:7-11
Jesus wouldn't require us to pray and then not answer us. He would not have us in a situation where He wasn't willing to do something about it; He wants to be involved with everything. God doesn't want to give you a stone when you ask for bread; He's a good father. He wants to provide us with good gifts; Jesus said that even earthly fathers want to give good gifts to children, so how much more does your heavenly Father want to provide for you?
JESUS TOOK THE LIMITS OFF
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
—John 14:14
Jesus in John 14:14 says that if you ask for anything in His name, He will do it. There is no gray area there; it's black and white. There is no disclaimer where He will only do it in certain situations. He says essentially, "You can ask me anything." To receive this promise, you must love God and do what He tells you to do; He's telling us there are no limits. Jesus is literally taking the limits off.
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
—Mark 9:23
Mark 9:23 seals the answer to the question, "Why would God ask us to pray and not give it to us?" Mark chapter nine describes the account where Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain and revealed His glory, which was His preexistent state. Jesus was actually on the mountain speaking with Moses, as though He was in another time and place; He was also with Elijah in another time, in another place.
Peter, James, and John witnessed this encounter.
Jesus spoke as He knew them because He did; He visited them when they lived on earth, and they knew Him. Even though Peter, James, and John had never met Elijah and Moses, they supernaturally knew who they were. When they came back down the mountain, I imagine they glowed, just like Moses when he was up on the mountain of God. Jesus' transfiguration, the encounter they witnessed, took place on that very same mountain.
BELIEVE GOD; DO NOT DOUBT
In Mark 9, when they came down from the mountain, a guy told Jesus that His disciples who were left down there couldn't cast the devil out. They were arguing, and Jesus asked them how long He would be with them, then told them to bring the child to Him (Mark 9:17-19). If I had that experience that they just had with Jesus on the mountain, I would have told Jesus, "We'll do it." I would have stepped up, rebuked that devil, and cast it out. That's what I would have done, and I know it's what Jesus would have wanted. But none of those three did that. Jesus had to cast the demon out, then scolded all His disciples for their unbelief. When He asked how long He would be with them, He meant that the time for Him to go was drawing near; they had to be at a certain level to carry this assignment. The whole time Jesus was trying to accelerate them by teaching them massive amounts of information and getting them to be practical about it.
After all of the teachings and discipleship, it upset Jesus that people complained to Him that the disciples couldn't heal or cast out devils. He was agitated.
