Asking and Receiving
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Intro:
Intro:
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When we last looked at the sermon on the mount, Jesus dealt with the issue of condemning others. He reminded us to clean up our own lives (the logs in our eyes) before assisting to remove specks from the eyes of others.
At first glance, 7-11 appear to be an interruption where Jesus abruptly shifts to the issue of prayer. However, the Master makes no mistakes.
We are fallible humans and He is the just judge. We need His wisdom in matters of faith and correcting each other. More than anything, we need to seek wisdom. Left in its context, this becomes less about us and more about God which is where the focus should have been all along.
We are encouraged to keep asking God, keep seeking His will, and keep knocking at the door of greater ministry. God never fails to meet the NEEDS of His children.
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are 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!
Mt 7:7-
The Searching Heart of Man
The Searching Heart of Man
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Jesus exhorts us to continuous prayer. All 3 verbs add emphasis to the same action.
Ask- Ask for, request
Ask for, request
Seek - Try to find
Try to find
Knock- Knock upon a gate or door
Knock upon a gate or door
They convey to us a desire to find something for which we are searching.
In context, this passage is emphasizing prayer.
In this case, earnestly seeking an answer from God.
Earnestly seeking an answer from God.
He encourages us to pray by promising we will be heard:
ask and it shall be given
seek and you will find
knock and the door will be opened.
Taken together, 7-8 could be translated:
Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew B. The Kingdom Servant Sees the Father as His Provider (7:7–11)
“Keep on asking, and it will be given to you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking will continually receive, and he who keeps on seeking will continually find, and to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.”
We must realize our Father is our provider.
We must realize our Father is the provider.
Because He is a loving Father, He meets our needs.
Jesus here teaches us to persevere in prayer
This passage emphasizes the generosity and faithfulness of the Father not our efforts. Which leads us to examine
The Nature of God
The Nature of God
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are 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!
Mt 7:
V. 9 & 10 rhetorically ask us about human fathers and their children’s needs.
Jesus uses these obvious questions to show how God goes above and beyond what human Fathers can do.
Since no loving parent would trick their children with stones and snakes instead of food, it can be concluded that God won’t either.
God is not some trickster out to get us.
He is righteous and the perfect Father
Jesus has been calling His disciples to high standards.
At the same time, He tries to raise their understand of God’s superiority in all ways.
If you then, who are 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!
If evil men can give gifts, how much more is God able?
a. Evil
Why does He call us evil? We don’t feel evil do we? We think of ourselves as basically good don’t we?
That is the problem. We are not good. Notice what He says to us through Paul in Romans:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We are all sinners.
even though parents love children and have an instinct to provide, not all overcome their sin nature and do so.
Basically, many parents do provide for their children to the best of their ability.
However, our sin nature taints everything.
Yes, we parents make mistakes.
We sin.
We get angry
Our wants overshadow your needs.
Our selfishness gets in the way
God is Superior
He seeks only His glory
He is glorified in meeting our needs and conforming us to the image of Jesus.
It is not about fulfilling our wants.
Our wants are contaminated by sin
God provides our needs and gives the best gifts to us.
Have you ever known a child to ask for something they want, but you know better and say no? OF COURSE you have!
God seeks His glory, not our comfort and entertainment.
He calls us to live dependent upon our loving Father.
We can trust Him to do what is best.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Prayer isn’t about us!
It is about God!
His faithfulness
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
Psalm 37:
He is faithful. He never leaves us and never forsakes us
He knows our needs before we ever ask.
He is faithul
His power
God has the ability, the power, to meet our needs and answer our petitions.
Consider what Isaiah said about Him.
I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
iS 14:
Nothing is too difficult for God.
He will fulfil His plan and carry out His purpose.
His glory
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
Ps 247-8
Conclusion
Conclusion