How Much More Will Your Father Give?

Let’s not forget how connected these short sections of Scripture really are. We are leaning on the help of the surrounding texts in order to interpret what Jesus is teaching.

Not too far back, in Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us how to pray like Him. In this model we learn to pray for His will to be done, to pray for the Kingdom of God to come into this world and into our lives so that our lives look more like what’s happening in Heaven every day.

We learned that this prayer is corporate, focused on others, humble, and Kingdom centered.

But what about our needs. God, we have needs.

Yes, we have needs, but Jesus teaches us not yo be anxious about the needs we have. Matthew 6:33 “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

It’s in the seeking of the Kingdom of God, and the righteousness of God first that we find the most peace and rest, and can simply trust that he will provide.

v8 of chapter 6 reminded us that God the Father know what we need before we ask him.

This changes our perspective on prayer from something like wishful thinking, to hopeful expectation from a good and wise Father.

Well, in our text this morning, Jesus returns to the subject of prayer again. How do we know this is about prayer? Because he continues the theme of asking and seeking. He adds a third action of knocking in Matthew 7, and we’ll get to that.

We can also see the theme of prayer in v11. we read...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!

Asking God. Seeking God.

This is prayer. He’s teaching us more about prayer, church family. Who in here could stand to learn a little more, or a lot more, about prayer?

Me too.

Now at first glance it’s a little peculiar that he comes back to this subject in the context of how to rightly judge others and discern ourselves.

But when you look at all of this together…the fact that we’re called to lovingly discern the speck that is in our eye, and that by doing this we can then be most helpful to our brothers ans sisters, it’s really a great opportunity to return to the subject of prayer.

When we look across this room, what do we see. A family. Many of us bought and forgiven by the precious blood of Jesus…made one together in Him, healed, free, hopeful, filled with His love for one another.

One of the things we find happening a lot in Paul’s letters to the churches is that we get to see his love for them in how he prays for them.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you…” (Romans 1:8-10)

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:4)

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” (Ephesians 1:16)

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy…” (Philippians 1:3-4)

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…” (Colossians 1:3)

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers…” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3a)

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right…” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:3)

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers…” (Philemon 1:4)

How do we know Paul cared for the flock of God, for the churches he planted, and for the Christians in those local churches? One way is by his fervent prayer for them.

That’s what I want to challenge us all with today…fervent prayer. Prayer that does not relent. Prayer that trusts in God the Father, and knows His good heart for His children.

Let’s get into the text...

In this teaching from Jesus this morning we’re seeing, not three different kinds of prayer, but three levels of intensity in prayer.

See the procession?

Ask

Seek

Knock

You’ll notice that with every action is a promised result...

Those who ask will receive

Those who seek will find

The door will be opened to those who knock.

He affirms this twice. v7 he says it to the disciples - You, you, you.

v8. He says it again, but expands the promise beyond the 12 disciples. That is to say, that EVERYONE who asks, seeks, knocks in the manner in which Christ is teaching will receive these blessings.

It doesn’t matter what church, what nationality, what background…all who come to Jesus in sincere faith, claiming no righteousness of their own, but pleading Christ’s blood as sufficient to save…come to His Father, and come as adopted sons and daughters with all the privileges and rights of a natural born child.

And this is why v9 is there.

This is not only about praying with fervency and with relentless trust. This text is helping us with the doubt the follows so many of us…does God really love me? Does God really care for me? Does God want good things for me?

So he gives us a comparison to use.

v9 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?

The scenario is the human institution of parent and child…more specifically, father and son.

Jesus looks at the crowd and asks them to imagine a fairly common scene in every home…a child asking for food.

And the only way this scenario falls apart is if the father in the picture is the absolute worse father in existence. Because that it what it would take for someone to hand their child a stone when asking for bread. Unlike the analogy of the log in someone’s eye…this is not funny.

Jesus is telling us something about His Father, and our Father. What earthly dad would do this? Out hearts revolt at the thought of such hatred. Even if you had a horrible father, you still understand this innately, that father’s don’t do this.

Great, so now we have in our minds what God like…like a good father on his earth? Not exactly…look what he says next which may shock some people here. v11 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!

Jesus isn’t comparing the Father to the worst dads on earth, but to the best, and he still says that they are comparatively evil.

That’s the point.

The point is to convince the one who asks, that the Father’s ear is lowered to you with love, and he will give.

In prayer, you’re not twisting his arm, or bribing him, or begging. He’s not like that at all. He’s not like other god’s who have no fatherly love in them, but demand your life with nothing in return. Give, work, expend, die and you get nothing.

In Christ and through Christ we get the Father of Christ, and He loves us with a love that nothing can separate us from.

Not only do those who ask, receive, but those who seek find.

This is an invitation to press on and go further. Seek after God. We’ve already been told that this is the way of Kingdom people. To seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and to do it first.

When should we seek after Him? Should we wait till we receive what we’ve asked for? That’s not what the text says. We’re simply told that the one who persists from asking, to seeking, and then knocking ends up entering into a door that is opened for them.

This is an invitation to see God as the patient, hosptitible, generous, and present Father that He is.

But what are we to ask, seek, and knock for?

The text tells us…Good gifts and good things

The proper view of this text is not to think that God is going to give us whatever we persistantly ask for, but that our Father is good, and will only give us what is truly good for us.

As a sidenote, but certainly relivant - parents, if you’re giving in to persistance from your children but you’re not discerning what is good for them accordning to Scripture, logic, and some common sense, then you’re not loving them in those moments. Persistance is one aspect of this text…but the beauty of it is that we get to see who God is. If we ask for bread, he’ll give it in His timing and in His way. But what of we’re asking for rocks and snakes? Thankfully the Father says no to some of our prayers.

Church, ask, seek, and knock for good things. Discern the Scriptures to know if what you’re asking for is bread, or rocks.

James 5:16-18 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

GREAT POWER AS IT IS WORKING!

Pray persistantly and expectantly for Christains who confess sin and desire healing

Pray persistantly and expectantly for your own healing from sin

Pray for forgiveness from God.

Will he give these things? These are good things? Are you being persistant?

You may think…Well I’m asking God to get me out of debt, or make me rich, or give me children, or heal my cancer, or save my children from hell - and it’s not happening.

It’s texts like this, taken out of context, that has ruined so much of what Christians are supposed to believe. This is not a blank check. This is Jesus telling us what the Father is like, and what he’s not.

Go to Him, brothers and sisters... ask, seek, knock, but do so like a child. Don’t miss the significance of the one who knocks. That’s a door. This is about presence with God, opportunties for the Kingdom, God opening to you His very heart for you and desiring you in His presnece. Do not expect that God will bless your requests when you ask for worldly things, yet do not desire to simply be in His presence.

Our focus is on the Father…not on what we want. He’s the giver. Persist…ask…seek, knock on the doors of God’s heart and what do we get? A Father who says come to me. always pray. Don’t lose heart. I am just and I am good.

Luke 18:1-8 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? zWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Similar to Matthew 7, Jesus uses this story to impress upon us who the Father is by comparing him to an unjust judge who grows weary by the widow’s contuning to come to him. What’s the comparison for?

He is not an unjust judge.. He is not an evil earthly father.

And so we end with Jesus words in Matthew 7:10 how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!