Afraid to Ask?

Posted by Paul in Devotionals | 12 comments

Luke 9:37-45 – Jesus Heals a Demon Possessed Boy.

• “Afraid to Ask?”
• This story is the perfect example of the three gospel writers sharing the same incident but including what they believe is applicable for their readers.
• Put all three accounts together, Matthew and Mark, as well as this re-telling from Luke, and we get a fuller picture.
• Each one tells us something that the others leave out and today i want to concentrate on a small but important lesson from Luke.
• A father brings his only son to Jesus claiming that the disciples were not able to cast out the demon from him.
• Jesus rebukes the evil spirit and heals the boy.
• Everyone is amazed.
• Then, Luke adds that during this worship of God and the crowds adoration of the Christ, that Jesus takes His disciples to one side and tells them of His impending death for a second time.
• The disciples did not understand.
• They could not hear because the Bible tells us it was hidden from them.
• Then it says this;

“And they were afraid to ask Him about it”

• Ever been afraid to ask?
• I once heard George Barna the statistician say that the difference between good leaders and great leaders is that good leaders deal with issues as they arise but great leaders look for issues to confront.
• To be a good father, mother, minister, manager and disciple of Jesus, we cannot be afraid to ask the scary questions.
• But we are often afraid too ask or dig aren’t we?
• We don’t like to ask because we already suspect what the answer might be.
• Its interesting that Matthew’s account tells us the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon but did not ask Him this bigger question.
• I wonder if the reason understanding was hidden from the disciples was because they already suspected what might happen but were blocking it out?
• Jesus of course was the opposite. He asked plenty of questions because He was serious about discipleship. He even asked questions in answer to questions that He hadn’t been asked yet – note how often the Bible tells us that “He knew what they were thinking”.
• And because He did, He confronted it with a question!
• So how do we ask good questions especially when trying to grow people?
• I’ll share with you some principles I have learnt over the years, let me know if they are helpful to you.

1. Ask a question but then always ask another. Never be satisfied with the first answer.

 

2. Ask specific questions not general ones. It is amazing how often people will blag you with a generic answer. Ask a specific question and they will have to give a specific answer.

 

3. Ask a series of questions that look for a pattern, or principle. One question after one incident will only tell you a little about someone but the best questions reveal a pattern of thought or a general attitude that has become a principle in someone’s life.

 

4. Ask questions that do not simply reveal what a person did but how they came to the conclusion that what they did would be a good thing.

 

5. Ask creative, random questions.

 

6. Ask an impertinent [irrelevant] question; get a pertinent [relevant] answer.

 

7. Ask remembering that what you sow is what you reap; simple questions will get you simple answers

• Ok, now for a little twist.
• Can I encourage you to not only apply all these question principles to those you are leading… but also to God.
• He’s big enough.
• And He loves questions!