A New Kind of Asking

Background

What are you searching for?

You know, when of the amazing changes in the last 20 years is the way that WIFI is now everywhere we go. 20 years ago most homes probably didn’t have it, many businesses may have it but not for public use, and churches didn’t even consider having it. But now, we EXPECT to find WIFI. In fact, we will go to extreme lengths to find it. We will ask someone when we are at their house if they can tell us the password, when we are at a business we will look around to see if we can find the password posted anywhere, we might even walk into a random coffee shop for the WIFI and for no other reason!

We do this because we know that WIFI is the source of the things that we want and we will search to find it at all costs. Access to social media, our email, access to information that we need. The internet is FULL of stuff for us to use. We search for WIFI because we know what it can give us.

Throughout the sermon on the mount Jesus has given us a lot to think about connected to our heart, our motives, our desires. Jesus has spent time telling us our neighbor includes our enemy and our love for our neighbor is more than just our actions, He showed us our righteousness isn’t based just on actions but on whose attention we are trying to grab, and He asked us who do we serve and what reward are we seeking to retain.

We come to the this final section of the body of Jesus message that started at 5:17 and ends here in v. 12.

And as he closes up the body of His sermon, before He gets to the conclusion there is sort of a question that might be looming in our minds. How in the world am I going to be able to follow any of this? It seems like too much!

And even though Jesus doesn’t ask a question here in v. 7 I think that there is a question implied. What are you searching for? (pause) And what are you willing to do in order to attain it? (pause) How would you answer this question? What are you searching for in life?

Jesus has been asking this question since ch. 6

“Why do your worry about food? Drink? Clothing? Doesn’t your heavenly father give these things”

“Why do you store up treasures on earth? Haven’t I prepared something far more valuable?”

“Why do you worry about others actions? Haven’t I called you to be holy?”

The reason we worry about these things is because we are searching. We a searching for security, for value, for purpose. And as we search Jesus brings us a response.

God desires to be the source that we draw from

Rather then to continue to search for what will bring us joy that our heavenly Father can be our source of life that never runs dry.

In Revelation John starts to give us this vision of the kingdom of God.

Revelation 22:1-3 “Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.”

Do you see what is in this vision? A source of life, a river flowing through the kingdom of God, that makes fruit, that heals the nations, that takes away the curse.

Jeremiah tells us something similar.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

See, God is the deep source of life (pause) that never runs dry, that brings peace, that gives us confidence, that removes worry. We can often be searching for other things. WIFI…love…money…happiness…security…but there is only one source and we should seek to:

1. Draw from the Lord constantly. 2. Believe that God can supply it. Trust that He is good.

Draw from the Lord constantly

Jesus in v. 7 uses three actions to describe a way of getting something that we want or need. Asking, seeking, and knocking.

Asking is often related to prayer, requesting of the Lord the things that we need.

Seek leads us to something we may not exactly know what it is that we need but we desire for God to help us understand and find. Jesus already said in 6:33 that we are to “seek first the kingdom of God”. It is pursuing God and knowing the Lord will find us delight.

Knock is reminds us of a closed door, something we would desired to be open but that we are waiting for another to open for us. It also reminds us of an illustration Luke tells us Jesus uses in Luke 11:5-8 “He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

Our requests must be constant, even to the point where we might call it annoying. But I’m going to tell you a secret…you can’t annoy God. That would be a funny verse though, wouldn’t it?

It isn’t try it a few times and when it doesn’t work out give up. But Jesus tells us “constantly go to the source.” Paul tells us this, point blank, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray constantly,”.

But Jesus is broadening the scope to more than prayer. Seeking and knocking is about pursuing godly things and believing that God can give it to us if we pursue it.

That is why we remember that God hears us, and that should excite us to consistent prayer

-We can often feel doubtful in our prayers, unsure if the Lord hears us. We might think we don't deserve to talk with God because of our sin.

-But God is the one who always answers. We shouldn’t rely on people. Because we believe that God can supply it.

Believe that God can supply it

Jesus repeats, but also lengthens, what He just said. He is reassuring the reader of the truth. He says “everyone” who does these things will be given, will find, and will have their door opened. It is a reminder that persistence and earnest desire will work with God and that it is available to anyone who comes to Him.

But what will we be given, what will we find, what door will be opened?

If we were to close our eyes and think about what we might ask for, or seek, or a door we might want opened you might think about something with your job…some type of thing you need to buy, a goal you might have in life. But that isn’t what Jesus is talking about here. Because remember what Jesus has already told us “don’t worry about food, or drink or clothes because your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Certainly we can still ask for those things but Jesus has already told us that as far as our concerns go that should be very low because that is the base level of God’s care for His creation, let alone those made in His image! So we should believe that can supply that. But what what else should we believe God can supply? What are we seeking from the Lord?

James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”

This is one example. Wisdom! When we face difficult situations do we go to the Lord to help understand our situation.

Sin. Is there a sin in your life do you ask God to help take away? An addiction rr a pattern you continue to go to in your life you don’t like.

Attitude change. Do you go around being angry? Feeling guilty? Feeling like an imposter? Feeling anxious or sad? Do you believe God can change your attitude?

Action change. Do you procrastinate? Do you have a hard time with confrontation? Do you want to be a better spouse or parent? Is there something that you feel you are bad at that you would like to improve on? Is there a spiritual discipline (prayer, time in the Word, stewardship, serving, etc) that you would like to grow in? A fruit of the spirit you would like to get better at?

A blessing you would like to see. Your church growing, a family member being saved, an opportunity in your life you would like to have.

And this is just scratching the surface! And remember, it isn’t just asking. It is seeking and finding. That means God will use people in your life (sometimes a counselor, a pastor, a friend, a boss), it means you will look for opportunities in your life. But most importantly it means that you believe that can do it. This isn’t some prosperity Gospel version of Christianity, this isn’t some ridiculous thing that we make up at church to get you to come back each week. It is Jesus own words.

Mark 11:22-24 “Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours.”

We need to to be ready to receive.

-It isn't that God can't provide outside of our prayers or doesn't know if we don't tell Him, but rather our prayers are a way of us submitting to God's will and recognizing that He is the one who can give them to us.

-James 4:2 “You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask.”

Our hearts must believe that our God is the source, that HE is the one who supplies, that it can’t come from anywhere else. But there is another element. Not just believing He can do it but trusting that He is good.

Trust that He is good

Jesus uses this example, and He goes from lesser to greater in this example. “If your earthly father than how much more your heavenly father.”

He shows what we might expect from our earthly parents. We trust our earthly parents to give us good things and not the opposite of what we asked for or something that is dangerous to us.

-In fact, we would say. “Of course no good parent would do such a terrible thing!” They wouldn’t mock our hunger, they would seek to satisfy us.

And yet…our human fathers are imperfect.

We are all aware of our brokenness, aware that we make dumb decisions and we act in our own self-interest many times. Although some may like to say we are "good" by nature, that really we are all seeking the right things rather than the wrong, what Jesus has taught us throughout the sermon is the state of our heart condition. It is one thing to "do" the right thing, it is another thing to have the right motives. Our motives are innately sinful. Jesus also says "if you", which points to us specifically, because we when look into our own hearts we know that we see sin. But, as John Calvin said, "God drops into their hearts a portion of his goodness."

It reminds us that our parents give us gifts due to their relationship to us, as those who have raised us, who come from their own flesh and blood, as those who love us sacrificially even if imperfectly.

And so, if our imperfect parents would do such a thing for us, then HOW MUCH MORE will our Father in heaven, the one who made us in His own image, who desire perfect things for us, give to those who ask.

-This brings us to God in a childlike way.

-Because often we feel like we need to jump through hoops to get to God, or we feel like it can’t be done. But it is simple. He loves us and He can do it.

But it also reminds us that not only can God do it, but He is good and He desires to do good things for us.

-As parents we will let our children down. Whether that be because we can’t do what they ask, sometimes we break our promises, sometimes we make bad decisions, sometimes we don’t have compassion for our children's requests. It is why one of the most important aspects of being a parent it telling them you are sorry when you have messed up.

-But our heavenly Father doesn’t let us down, He doesn’t break His promises, He doesn’t make mistakes. He perfectly loves us. Because He is good.

-Sometimes that is hard for us to understand because of our imperfect parents. Parents who have hurt us…who have let us down.

-But we have a good heavenly Father. To say that He is good is to say that His motive is always pure, it is never faulty.

What makes it difficult for us sometimes is that these gifts that we receive from God are those that relate to the kingdom of heaven. We lean towards earthly things but we should be considering heavenly things. That God's will be done in our lives, this is central to what we are asking. He knows what is ultimately good for us.

If you think about a child telling their parent that they are hungry, the child may say something like "I want ice cream", or "I want McDonalds!". So then, if a parent cooks them a healthy meal at home for them to eat is that not answering the request of the child? It is answering their desire, that they are hungry and want something to eat, but it is doing so within the context of what will be best for the child even if they don't believe that to be so. A kid can also ask for a dangerous thing, "I want to go in the deep end"..."well you don't know how to swim!"

-This may lead us to think "I asked for this thing and I didn't get it" and start to doubt God. But we have to remember God knows which are good and which will harm us.

-In fact, we should thank God for only giving us good things and not just what we want. Thank God that He didn't give us some things that we wanted even when we didn't understand why.

We must desire for God to do it

-We have to know God can do it, believe God can do it, and desire for God to do what we can't.

-It is not enough to believe God can do it, we must want God to do it for us so that He can get the glory.

-Ephesians 1:15-19 “This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”

We should desire to be the conduit that the world draws from

This "Golden Rule" has been copied by many other religions, by even non-religious. In fact, this is the assume rule by our culture today. It is why we search for "equality", why many are focused on believing they deserve to have what their neighbor has. But the problem is, from even that language, is that we have turned it upside down. We express it in a negative way, "don't hate others", but Jesus hear expresses it in a positive way. It is what Jesus just talked about with judging, he asks us to search our own heart first before searching others. Here Jesus argues that before we focus on how others are treating us, we should first ask how we are treating others. Because if you wish for them to treat you a certain way then you should first treat them a certain way.

It is not enough for us to accept this in a negative way "don't do evil", but we must do it in the positive way "do good to others."

But this seems odd? What does this have to do with what Jesus just told us?

When I was younger I had the opportunity to visit Sequoia National Forest. Sequoia’s are some of the largest trees in the world. Growing as tall as 300 feet tall and trunks that grow from one end to the other 20-30 feet. These are amazing and unique trees. One of the most unique things about them is their root system. They are relatively shallow compared to other trees, only going 6-12 feet deep. But instead what they do is intertwine with the Sequoia trees next to them. And as they wrap around each other they actually share nutrients with each other. If one is lacking, then the one tree will give it to another to help it. It helps them last longer, grow higher, and protect against toxins that might be in the soil.

The tree’s themselves are not the source, but they are the conduit by which others may be supported.

That is what Jesus has called us to be, those that support others because we know that He will take care of us. Because if we know He will take care of our needs than why would we lack in care for our neighbor. Paul tells us this in Galatians.

Galatians 5:13-15 “For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.”

This is how we become the law and light of the earth.

We can put a smile on someones face with a serious need, and then when we have a need THEY can come our aid. We can support the hurting so we can be supported in our hurt. We can be the better picture of a church family who truly cares for and loves the person sitting next to us.

OR we can gossip and complain. We can get upset because someone doesn’t so something exactly our way. We can split over petty arguments (pause) and we will be consumed by one another.

-This rule should challenge our daily life. Rather than finding reasons to not be kind to others, to make argument for why they do not deserve our compassion, to argue about our own goodness and our correctness to their evilness and their wrongness, that we should consider how we would want to be treated and do that for them. Because when we are wrong, when we have made bad choices, we desire grace. So we should give that grace to us.

-This excludes selfishness, it excludes pride, it is "blessed are the humble", "blessed are the peacemakers".

-It is intentionally seeking the well-being of others.

***As the the band comes up***

Could you imagine how different our world would be if we practiced this? The impact that this would have on our daily life if we lived this out? How much better our life, and those around us would be?

-Jesus never promises us that it will be easy. In fact, we know some will persecute us because of our love for them.

-But we, as the church, can encourage one another and bring the light of the Gospel into a dark world.

We all want the good life, we all want joy and we want our needs met. But today, let’s remind ourselves of what Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33…seek first the kingdom of God and ALL these things will be provided for you.

So I challenge you today, go to God as your source (pause)